Your successful journey to the platform economy

Whether your are an innovative startup or an established company seeking to reinvent your business, we can help you succeed in the platform economy and harness its huge economic potential.

Shifting towards the platform business model

Businesses are moving away from the traditional linear business model and are shifting towards platform business models. This model enables organisations to realise the opportunities provided by the platform economy and to reap the benefits:

  • Reinvent or innovate business and challenge peers
  • Monetise data by data acquisition and sharing, control of data flows and analytics
  • Business scalability with close to zero marginal cost
  • Cost cutting by streamlining processes and organisations

What is the platform economy and how can it help organisations?


The platform economy is supported by the unique level of global internet connectivity. It allows organisations to collaborate with agility within and across industries, innovate delivery solutions for goods and services and access new markets and customers. Basically, the platform economy sets the basis for rapid growth and profitability.

The legal framework: why is it a key success factor for your journey to the platform economy?

In the platform economy, it is important to be vigilant from the beginning. Use a smart risk management strategy to avoid financial and reputational threats.
A sound legal framework is necessary to protect your platform business as well as to ensure its legal viability and, in turn, profitability. For this reason, we advise you to address i.e. privacy laws governing the use of data on the platform as well as intellectual property from the onset.

What are the steps of the journey towards the platform economy?

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1. Explore

On the basis of our industry insights, we assess together to what extent you could benefit from a platform business model.

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2. Design

Together, we conceptualise your future platform business model using the platform canvas approach. With this tested methodology and our market expertise, we design a platform model that best suits the scale and nature of your business.

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3. Strategy

Together, we develop a clear and well structured strategy to turn your platform business model into reality. This includes among others: visualisations, blueprints and partners. A well designed strategy sets the ground for decision making and implementation.

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4. Infrastructure

Implementing a platform business model means setting up the necessary infrastructure. You might change your current infrastructure, create a new one or look for a partner to source it. With our experts and international network, we can help you find and implement the right solution.

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5. Legal Framework

Setting up a sound legal framework is an essential part of your platform business model and its implementation. We help you to protect it and ensure its legal viability by identifying legal risks, advising on relevant laws and drafting agreements. Fundamental legal aspects that must be addressed from the onset are intellectual property and privacy laws governing the use of data on the platform.

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6. Launch

We support you with the launch of the platform. This includes the implementation and execution of the legal framework.

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7. Monitor

We partner with you throughout the life cycle of your platform to ensure that it stays relevant. We help protect your platform, your intellectual property and help preserve the legal viability of your platform business model.

Contact us

Susanne Hofmann

Susanne Hofmann

Data Protection Officer, PwC Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Tel: +41 58 792 17 12

Natascha Tsalas

Natascha Tsalas

Head of Intellectual Property (IP), PwC Switzerland

Tel: +41 58 792 9832