You know the pain: you're putting together a pitch deck, you want to make sure that you've got all your ducks in a row.
You want the right data from reputable sources to back up your claims and make your case. And let me tell you, finding that data can be a right headache.
I mean, have you ever tried to do a simple Google search for market research? It's a nightmare. You end up with a hundred open tabs, and you're not even sure if half of them are legitimate sources.
That's where ChatGPT comes in, my friend. This nifty little tool can help you cut through the noise and find the information you need in a jiffy. But remember, ChatGPT is somewhat unreliable and its brain is limited to 2021, so you need to use the reports/sources it tells you about and google their latest versions - which is still faaaaar easier and faster than a blind search.
Here’s a recent example (from my own project) on how to do it.
Setting: My client is pitching a platform engineering SaaS product for pre-seed investment. I need to start with the first few market slides of the deck.
Task: To set context for an investor/VC audience, I need to describe the market landscape and explain the importance of platform engineering as a concept.
For this, I first need to understand (in simple words) what platform engineering is (so it can be explained easily to a non-tech person).
Second, I need to understand and express why platform engineering is important, with some quotes from reputable sources.
Third, I need some stats from reputable sources.
Fourth, I need to say why it’s the right time to make a SaaS product for platform engineering.
After all this, I will structure the narrative using what I gathered to set up the hypothesis for my client’s product.
Here are the prompts I wrote and what ChatGPT gave me.
My prompt:
Describe platform engineering to me in simple words, give me three analogies so I can understand it better and explain it easily to others who know nothing about it.
This is what ChatGPT gives me:
Platform engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, and maintaining the technology infrastructure that powers a software platform. The platform may be an operating system, a web application, a mobile app, or any other software system that supports other applications.
Analogies that could help you understand platform engineering are:
Building a House: Platform engineering is like building a house. Just as a house has a strong foundation, walls, roof, and infrastructure to support daily living, a software platform needs a strong foundation, software infrastructure, and tools to support the applications that run on it.
Building a Highway: Platform engineering is like building a highway. Just as a highway requires a well-designed road network, bridges, tunnels, and interchanges to support the flow of traffic, a software platform requires a well-designed architecture, APIs, services, and integrations to support the flow of data and interactions between different applications.
Building a Mall: Platform engineering is like building a mall. Just as a mall requires a central location, access to transportation, and a diverse mix of stores and amenities to attract customers, a software platform requires a central repository, access to data, and a diverse mix of applications and services to attract users and support their needs.
Now, I have a basic understanding of the concept and I can use more than one to explain it to others.
My prompt:
Tell me why platform engineering is important and how it benefits a company. Also tell me what would happen to companies that don’t use platform engineering. Use quotes from reputable sources like delloite, pwc, mckinsey, ey, kpmg, accenture, ibm, gartner. Give me names and dates of all the reports in brackets after each quote.
This is what ChatGPT gives me:
Platform engineering is important for companies that rely on software platforms to deliver products or services. It involves designing, building, and maintaining the technology infrastructure that powers the platform, and providing developers with a set of tools and services that enable them to build applications more efficiently. The benefits of platform engineering are significant and varied, and include increased agility, scalability, innovation, and cost savings.
According to a report by Deloitte, platform engineering is crucial for businesses seeking to drive innovation and digital transformation:
"Platform engineering is becoming an essential capability for businesses that want to drive innovation, scale, and speed. At a time when businesses are under pressure to rapidly innovate and digitize, platform engineering can help companies to accelerate their efforts by providing the right technology infrastructure, tools, and services to developers." (Deloitte, "Platform Engineering: The Key to Digital Innovation," 2019)
McKinsey's report on platform engineering highlights its ability to drive efficiency and reduce costs:
"Platform engineering can deliver efficiency gains of up to 40% by reducing the complexity and cost of managing disparate systems and applications." (McKinsey, "Platform Engineering: Building a Foundation for Agility and Innovation," 2019)
Furthermore, according to a report by Accenture, platform engineering can enable businesses to achieve greater scalability, making it easier to respond to changing market conditions:
"By creating a scalable platform that can accommodate new applications and services, companies can remain agile and adapt quickly to changing market conditions." (Accenture, "Platform Engineering: Building a Digital Business for the Future," 2018)
Businesses that fail to adopt platform engineering risk falling behind their competitors. As Gartner notes in their report on platform engineering, those who do not embrace the approach may struggle to remain competitive:
"Businesses that do not adopt platform engineering will struggle to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape." (Gartner, "Platform Engineering: The Foundation for Digital Innovation," 2020)
In summary, platform engineering is a crucial capability for businesses seeking to drive innovation, efficiency, scalability, and competitiveness in the digital age. Without it, businesses may struggle to keep pace with competitors and meet the evolving needs of customers and the market.
My prompt:
Make a list of 10 statistics about platform engineering from reputable sources like delloite, pwc, mckinsey, ey, kpmg, accenture, ibm, gartner. Give me names and dates of all the reports in brackets after each statistic.
This is what ChatGPT gives me:
Unfortunately, as an AI language model, I cannot browse the internet to access current reports or the most recent statistics from reputable sources. However, here are ten recent statistics related to platform engineering that may be helpful:
According to Gartner, "By 2025, 70% of organizations will use a platform to manage their API ecosystems, up from 35% in 2018." (Gartner, "Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2021," October 2020)
PwC reports that "83% of companies believe platform-based business models will be core to their growth strategy within three years." (PwC, "Platform Strategy: Creating Exponential Value," September 2018)
Accenture finds that "83% of enterprise executives say their companies are pursuing platform strategies to facilitate business model innovation and ecosystem creation." (Accenture, "From Digital Experimentation to Digital Transformation," January 2020)
McKinsey reports that "companies with platform business models are growing 2.5 times faster than those without them." (McKinsey & Company, "Winning in the Platform Economy," May 2020)
Deloitte notes that "the number of new platforms created has grown by 300% over the past five years." (Deloitte, "Platform Strategy: How to Unlock the Power of Communities and Networks," October 2020)
KPMG reports that "the global platform economy is projected to double by 2025, reaching $16.2 trillion in value." (KPMG, "Global Online Marketplaces Report 2018," October 2018)
EY finds that "84% of executives believe platforms will be the 'glue' that brings organizations together in the digital era." (EY, "Is Your Platform Strategy Pushing You to the Right Side of Disruption?," October 2020)
IBM notes that "businesses that use platforms to integrate multiple data sources will be able to reduce the time it takes to make decisions by 50%." (IBM, "The Power of Platform Business Models," November 2019)
Gartner predicts that "by 2025, more than 50% of traditional enterprises will have created or partnered with a tech startup to improve their digital business capabilities." (Gartner, "Predicts 2020: Digital Business Strategy for Enterprise," December 2019)
PwC reports that "70% of companies believe they will achieve better outcomes by partnering with others on a platform than they would by going it alone." (PwC, "Platform Strategy: Creating Exponential Value," September 2018)
My prompt:
I am planning to build a SaaS product for platform engineering. Why is now a good time to make such a product?
This is what ChatGPT gives me:
There are several reasons why now is a good time to build a SaaS product for platform engineering:
Growing Demand: There is a growing demand for SaaS products that provide platform engineering capabilities. As more companies adopt platform-based business models, they will require tools and services to help them build, manage, and scale their platforms. According to PwC, "83% of companies believe platform-based business models will be core to their growth strategy within three years."
Market Size: The market for SaaS products in platform engineering is large and growing. According to KPMG, "the global platform economy is projected to double by 2025, reaching $16.2 trillion in value." This presents a significant opportunity for companies that provide platform engineering tools and services.
Increased Efficiency: Platform engineering tools and services can help companies increase their efficiency and productivity. For example, by using automation and standardized processes, platform engineering tools can help companies build and launch their platforms faster, with fewer errors.
Competitive Advantage: Companies that adopt platform-based business models can gain a competitive advantage over traditional business models. By providing a SaaS product for platform engineering, you can help companies accelerate their platform development and deployment, which can give them a competitive edge in their industry.
Technological Advancements: Advancements in technology, such as cloud computing, containerization, and microservices, have made it easier and more cost-effective to build and manage platforms. This has created an opportunity for companies to provide SaaS products that leverage these technologies to provide platform engineering capabilities.
Overall, the growing demand for platform-based business models, the large and growing market for SaaS products in platform engineering, the potential for increased efficiency and productivity, the competitive advantage that platform-based business models can provide, and advancements in technology all make now a good time to build a SaaS product for platform engineering.
Now, I have clear narrative pegs, quotes and stats along with names of multiple reports on the topic. I can now search for the 2022/23 versions of these reports, get top-level stats & graphs from the overview pages, and use them to build a persuasive narrative.
The above process takes me less than five minutes, and searching+parsing new reports takes 10-15 minutes more. Try it out and let me know how it works for you.
The writer is a marketing advisor and pitch deck expert for startups and small businesses. He has formerly worked with global media conglomerates and now advises growing businesses on fundraising and revenue growth. You can connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ajinkyachikte/