Exploring collaborative innovation and challenges in multi-vendor ecosystems

In today’s business landscape, achieving success is a factor of collaboration and innovation. As technologies evolve further, co-creation and partnering with multiple stakeholders has become imperative to deliver business outcomes and, at the same time, ensure customer satisfaction.

While this approach has multiple benefits, certain challenges arise as a consequence of multi-vendor ecosystems. There are security vulnerabilities that may cost a company big time in the long run. That's why it is essential to devise strategies for risk management and future-proofing so that progress isn't heavily impacted.

There may also be scenarios where vendors may leave the system, which is why protecting code is imperative.

At a roundtable discussion at TechSparks 2024 Mumbai, held in association with Cloudflare, a leading connectivity cloud company, industry experts discussed the use cases of having multiple vendors, also highlighting how they navigate the challenges that come up.

The panelists for the roundtable included Rajeev Belani, Chief Technology Officer, Wellness Forever; Navin Roselin, Chief Information and Security Officer, CredAble; Ashish Pawar, Vice President Product and Technology, FlexiLoans; Anil Kumar, Chief Technology Officer, The Souled Store; Prashant Padmanabhan, Chief Technology Officer, Mintifi; Sandeep Ghule, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Credilio; Prajakt Deolasee, Chief Technology Officer, Turtlemint; Rahul Mirchandani, Chief Product Officer, Dream11 and Dream Sports; Neha Shivran, Chief Analytics and Data Officer, Kissht; Paritosh Desai, Chief Product Officer, IDfy, Abhishek Sinha, Head of Engineering, Avendus and Fernando Serto, Field CTO, APJC, CloudFlare.

Key takeaways

During the discussion, some of the leading names in the tech industry discussed how it is crucial to begin with a gap assessment to understand missing links in the ecosystem. Thereafter, a new platform can be built to address the gaps.

Some participants also argued that when bringing in new partners in the ecosystem, companies must be cautious that these additions can be integrated into other existing or new services.

Here are some crucial insights from the discussion:

1. Staying relevant is key: Since data is everything and user experience is of utmost importance, it is important to understand users’ requirements and break down specific business needs accordingly. Personalisation remains critical to retain customers.

2. Focus on strong architecture: While experimentation is important, it also challenges several companies from a tech standpoint. To be at ease with experimentation, the architecture has to be viewed in an integrated fashion. For instance, the front end, middleware, and backend must be in sync for intelligent client handling.

Having a strong architecture also allows for more dynamism, helping monetise different parts of the project and eventually in scaling up.

3. Emphasis on future-proofing: Another aspect that must not be neglected is future-proofing. Since technology is forever evolving, it's essential to understand that language changes but principles don't.

4. Room for flexibility: There is a high level of dynamism and chaos associated with open API architecture. When there are a handful of engineers and they can build good code, the idea of holding on to it and having a separate integration piece makes sense. It's equally crucial to protect the code, since vendors may come and go.

5. Due diligence: Considering the many security vulnerabilities, it is advisable to run regular security scans since third parties are always on the lookout for failure points.

Having vendors with certification is essential to establish a secure practice. Even when there are adequate certifications, doing due diligence from time to time is a good idea.