Towards a framework for assessing the customer value of digital solutions

Digitalization transforms companies, businesses, and ecosystems in several ways. However, digital solutions have still often a supplementary role in company´s operations and the arising monetary benefits are typically hard to define. At the same time as digital technologies get more and more complex, so do the monetization models to create business value from these technologies. This paper focuses on establishing a framework to define the customer value generated by digital solutions and on examining the value creation potential of digital solutions. Firstly, the aim is in increasing understanding of phenomena of a customer value. Secondly, the customer value is researched empirically in case studies in maritime and in forest industry. The case studies focus on analyzing the technology providers’ digital solutions as risk mitigation investments where the cost-effectiveness is of central concern and where the benefits arise largely from the avoidance or reduction of negative consequences in the operation and maintenance phases of the asset life cycle. In the developed value assessment framework, the inherent uncertainty is taken into account by a what-if-analysis i.e. by re-calculating the results if initial parameter values are changed. The framework contributes to refining of the value of the digital solution, and to demonstrating and communicating the costs and risks as well as the benefits achieved by a potential customer.