By Sachin V. Gopalan

Whenever a new digital initiative is introduced, the first question people usually ask is simple: “What app is this?”

The question makes sense. For more than a decade, the digital economy has been shaped by apps  and platforms. From e-commerce and ride hailing to digital payments and food delivery, almost  every service operates within separate ecosystems competing for users.

So when the Indonesia Open Network (ION) was introduced, many immediately looked for the  app behind it. But that is precisely where ION is different.

ION is not a new app. It is not a new marketplace. And it is not designed to replace platforms people already use today.

Instead, ION introduces a different idea altogether: an open and interconnected commerce  network.

Big Platforms Help Economies Grow, But Not Always Openly

There is no denying that digital platforms have accelerated Indonesia’s economic transformation.

But over time, the platform model has also created new challenges. The larger a platform becomes,  the greater its control over market access, customer data, product distribution, and merchant  visibility.

Today, many small businesses effectively operate on what could be called “rented digital land.”  They can sell products online, but they do not fully control access to their own customers.

According to UN Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD) reports on the global digital economy, digital platform markets are becoming increasingly concentrated among a small number of  dominant players that control data, infrastructure, and digital distribution channels. This  concentration makes it harder for smaller businesses to grow independently without relying  heavily on specific ecosystems.

Indonesia is beginning to experience the same trend.

Digital advertising costs continue to rise. Competition for visibility becomes more intense every  year. Many MSMEs are forced to constantly adapt to platform rules simply to remain visible in  the market.

This is where the idea of an open network becomes increasingly relevant.

ION and the Idea of Interoperability

ION works on a principle that is actually already familiar in everyday digital life: interoperability.

Simply put, different systems can communicate and connect with one another without belonging  to the same application or company.

Email is the easiest example. Gmail users can still send messages to Outlook or Yahoo users because they all operate on shared open protocols.

ION aims to bring that same logic into digital commerce.

Under this model, buyer applications, seller platforms, payment systems, and logistics providers  can interact within a shared network instead of operating inside isolated ecosystems.

For businesses, this creates new possibilities. They no longer need to build separate integrations  for every platform they want to join.

For consumers, it expands choice because access is no longer limited to a single ecosystem.

And for startups, such a system lowers the barriers to entry that are often too expensive to  overcome in today’s platform-driven economy.

Indonesia Needs Infrastructure, Not Just More Super Apps

For years, conversations about Indonesia’s digital economy have focused heavily on finding the  next “super app.”

But Indonesia’s biggest challenge is not simply creating another giant platform. The bigger  challenge is building digital infrastructure that allows more people to participate fairly in the  economy.

Indonesia has millions of MSMEs spread across diverse regions, each with different needs and  characteristics. Closed platform models often struggle to accommodate that diversity equally.

Open networks, on the other hand, create room for more localized and specialized solutions.

Community-based applications, digital cooperatives, regional services, and niche startups can  grow without needing to build entire ecosystems from scratch. They simply connect to the  network and focus on the services they understand best.

In the long run, this approach could help create a digital economy that is more distributed and  less centralized.

The Biggest Challenge Is Not Technology, But Mindset

The greatest obstacle to open networks may not be technological at all. It may simply be the way  people think about digital innovation.

For years, society has been conditioned to believe that every digital breakthrough must come in  the form of a new app. The bigger the platform, the more successful it appears.

That is why concepts like ION often sound abstract. Many people ask, “If it is not an app, then  what exactly is it?”

Yet history shows that the most transformative technological shifts often come not from a single  application, but from invisible infrastructure operating behind the scenes.

People rarely think about internet protocols when browsing websites. But without open protocols,  the internet itself would never have evolved into the global ecosystem it is today.

ION is attempting to build a similar foundation for Indonesia’s digital commerce ecosystem.

The Biggest Challenge Is Not Technology, But Mindset

The greatest obstacle to open networks may not be technological at all. It may simply be the way  people think about digital innovation.

For years, society has been conditioned to believe that every digital breakthrough must come in  the form of a new app. The bigger the platform, the more successful it appears.

That is why concepts like ION often sound abstract. Many people ask, “If it is not an app, then  what exactly is it?”

Yet history shows that the most transformative technological shifts often come not from a single  application, but from invisible infrastructure operating behind the scenes.

People rarely think about internet protocols when browsing websites. But without open protocols,  the internet itself would never have evolved into the global ecosystem it is today.

ION is attempting to build a similar foundation for Indonesia’s digital commerce ecosystem.

The Future May No Longer Belong to Closed Platforms

The world is gradually moving toward more open digital systems. The European Union, through  regulations such as the Digital Markets Act, is pushing for greater interoperability and fairer  competition in digital markets. Countries around the world are beginning to question whether the  future of the digital economy should remain concentrated in the hands of only a few dominant  platforms.

Indonesia is now facing the same conversation.

The question is no longer whether the digital economy will continue growing. That is almost  certain.

The more important question is: who truly benefits from that growth?

If digital access remains concentrated among a small number of dominant ecosystems, smaller  businesses will continue operating in positions of dependency. But if digital infrastructure  becomes more open, opportunities for participation can become far more inclusive.

And perhaps that is the real significance of ION.

Not merely as a new commerce system, but as an attempt to reshape how Indonesia’s digital economy is built: from a collection of closed ecosystems into a more open, interconnected, and  inclusive network for everyone.

Sachin V Gopalan is the CEO of Indonesia Economic Forum which is the Incubating Agency of  Indonesia Open Network (ION) being launched in July 2026. He is also Head of Steering  Committee of ION, which is as a model for open, interoperable digital commerce infrastructure  in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.