In today’s dynamic business environment, it is increasingly important to find ways to improve a company’s market value, not only through traditional assets but also through sophisticated intellectual and technological tools. One such tool that is gaining importance is the conceptual company model. Although this idea is several decades old, in the contemporary context it represents a new approach to how a business can be understood and managed while creating value understandable to both humans and artificial intelligence.
What is a conceptual model?
A conceptual model is an accurate and unambiguous expression of a company’s business model in a metalanguage that both humans and machines can comprehend. This model does not allow for divergent interpretations of the underlying concepts, which means that all actors – from management to IT and artificial intelligence – work with the same understanding.
An example could be how a company defines “customer”. In the conceptual model, this definition will be clearly established, including relationships and attributes such as transactions, products or customer preferences, which are firmly embedded in the model.
Business logic and ontology
The relationships between individual concepts in the model represent much more than simple relationships – they embody the business logic itself. Each relationship and its attributes, such as cardinality, relevance, mandatory or optional relationships, expresses how individual elements of the company work together and what is key to the company. These relationships form ontologies, which can be further used, for example, to define data quality rules or automate processes using artificial intelligence.
Common language
One of the other key benefits of the conceptual model is the creation of a common language that enables the same understanding of the company across teams and departments. Whether it be managers, developers or data analysts, everyone works with a single set of terms, which eliminates the possibility of misunderstandings and makes communication and implementation of changes more efficient.
The basis for business requirements
A clear definition of concepts and relationships provides a solid basis for specifying business requirements for information systems. When business processes and their logic are described in this way, it facilitates not only the development of systems but also their subsequent maintenance and updates. Companies can also more easily switch to new technologies or automate decision-making processes because artificial intelligence has access to high-quality structured data with clearly defined rules.
Business dictionary
The conceptual model is closely related to the business dictionary, which is an expression of the elements of the model in the form of human language. This dictionary contains definitions of terms that are used in the company and their relationships. Thanks to this, it is easy to map technical terms to specific elements and rules of the conceptual model. In addition, the business dictionary facilitates internal communication, training of new employees and implementation of new strategies.
Market value assessment
The final result of using a conceptual model is an increase in the market value of the company. By streamlining business processes, improving communication, automating and specifying requirements accurately, a company increases its operational efficiency while reducing costs associated with misunderstandings or incorrect implementations. A clearly defined business logic that is accessible to both humans and artificial intelligence also enables faster innovation and better response to market changes.
A company’s conceptual model is therefore not only a technical tool, but a real asset that can move a company to a higher level and enhance its market value. Nowadays, when more and more companies are focusing on digitalization and automation, this ability is becoming a key competitive factor.
Are you interested in this idea? Are you wondering how a conceptual model can help your company? We will be happy to share more details and implementation options with you!
Author: Petr Hájek