Charting Business Opportunities in an Adjacent Market

An international leader in processing payment transactions is interested in exploring business opportunities within identity authentication. 

Key objectives for a Corporate Strategy Vice President include understanding potential strategic options and framing opportunities for an action-oriented discussion with the Board.  The VP asked SimpatiCo for assistance based on their combination of financial services and technology experience, as well as satisfaction with past project work.  She trusted the analysis could be successfully completed in a tight timeframe from disparate locations with a minimal amount of guidance.

SimpatiCo’s Role

SimpatiCo drew relevant information from a significant amount of research materials and reports previously collected by the VP and conducted additional research where warranted.  All information was aggregated and translated into a useable presentation, accompanied by SimpatiCo observations.

  • Depicted the landscape, players, and roles for delivering identity authentication services, using an activity chain framework
  • Identified more than a dozen opportunities and mapped them in a matrix indicating relative attractiveness for the company
  • Completed a detailed spreadsheet with data for agreed criteria, such as market size, revenue potential, strategic importance, adoption risk, and competitive pressure for each opportunity
  • Summarized each opportunity, including key considerations and recommendation regarding pursuit
  • Facilitated comprehensive review to discuss processes, learnings, and detailed outcomes

Results

Within four weeks, the VP has an enhanced view of potential identity authentication opportunities.  The value delivered was multi-dimensional, not the least of which was a cataloguing of all relevant data from a multitude of sources in a useable format.  SimpatiCo’s observations stimulated thought provoking discussions that helped the VP formulate strongly held, defendable positions for the upcoming leadership decision-making sessions.