The Digital Business Model (DBM) represents the net additional economic value an organisation creates by effectively leveraging internal and external digital resources and ecosystems to deliver offerings to customers.
It defines how the organisation uses digital capabilities, data, and technologies to generate value, differentiate itself in the market, and sustain competitive advantage. In simple terms, the DBM articulates how digital enables the organisation to create, deliver, and capture value more efficiently and effectively than before.
Why Capability Maturity Matters
Digital Business Model maturity determines whether the organisation’s digital initiatives actually produce measurable value—or merely add complexity.
At lower levels of maturity, digital efforts often focus on incremental improvements or isolated projects without clear linkage to business outcomes.
As maturity grows, the organisation begins to understand and design digitally enabled value creation systems—where digital technologies are fully integrated into the core business model, not just layered on top of it.
A mature DBM capability enables leadership to make evidence-based decisions about where digital investments will yield the highest return, ensuring that digital transformation is value-driven rather than technology-led. It also fosters innovation in how products, services, and customer experiences are designed, priced, and delivered.
Link to Transformation Outcomes
During transformation, the Digital Business Model acts as the foundation for sustained value realisation. Organisations with higher DBM maturity can:
- Rapidly adapt offerings to evolving customer needs
- Monetise data and digital platforms effectively
- Leverage partnerships and ecosystems for mutual growth
- Align business models with digital scalability and resilience
Ultimately, the maturity of the DBM determines the organisation’s ability to compete and thrive in a digital-first economy. It’s the difference between using technology to automate today’s business and using it to create tomorrow’s.
Let’s Get Started
Understanding your organisation’s Digital Business Model maturity is essential to identifying where digital value is being created—or lost.
Schedule an “Accelerating Transformation Success” discovery session to explore how the Digital Maturity Index (DMI) can assess your Digital Business Model capability and build a roadmap for measurable digital value creation. Or learn more about UDT/DMI have a look at “Digital Transformation – the Human Factor”.