Platform Thinking
IT Partners Conference
June 17, 2014
John Charles
1
Platform Thinking – What
Changes?
Design
•
To be a platform, a system must
provide a useful function or service
and allow 3rd party access
Network Effects
•
Platforms have communities, products
have features
Value
•
Platforms open themselves to and
gain enormous value from 3rd party
contributors/developers
Platform-based Ecosystem
2
For Nearly 2 Decades the Microsoft Platform
Beat the Apple Product
Source: Parker & Van Alstyne
Microsoft opened their platform, licensed widely, and built a huge developer
ecosystem. Apple kept their product closed.
3
You know
your
business
model is
working
when users
of your
platform do
something
you didn’t
expect
Model T
Platform
Hay
Carrier
Flour
Mill
Race Car
Mobile
Church
Sawmill
Snowmobile
Goat
Carrier
4
Does Open Work?
“We tried to create every feature in the world and said, ‘O.K., we can do it, why should
we let a third party do it?’” (MySpace cofounder) DeWolfe
“We should have picked 5 to 10 key features that we would be totally focused on and
let other people innovate on everything else.”
The Rise & Ignominious Fall of MySpace – Business Week 2011
5
Platform Thinking – What
Changes?
•
•
Goal is transactions volume &
creating user value
Don’t need to own the one-off
resources/apps – simply convince
those providers to join you
Value
Strategy
Platform provider
focuses on most
valuable apps
Value increases as
others add to platform’s
“Long Tail”
Innovation
•
Platforms can be adapted to countless
needs & niches that the platform’s
original developers could not possibly
imagine
Source: Van Alstyne (2014), “Platform Shift: How New
Biz Models are Changing the Shape of Industry”
6
Change
The Pace of Change Seemed Somewhat Linear in the Past –
but its Exponential Nature is Now Clearly Apparent
But, we must now
optimize for:
• Time to market
• Rapid changes
• User experience
We optimized for:
• Performance
• Reliability
• Cost
Time
7
Much of Higher-Ed Seems to be Suffering from
Boiling Frog Syndrome
• Higher-ed’s biggest challenge is
its time zone. It’s 9:30am, June
17, 2014 on the East Coast…
…but the app portfolio at
many institutions is stuck in the late
1990s or early 2000s
• Higher-ed was ahead of the
curve in terms of its use of
technology…
…but then the curve ran us
over
8
Google’s Eight Pillars of Innovation
Innovation
Have a
mission
that
matters
Strive for
continual
Think
big but innovation
- not
start
small
instant
perfection
Look for
ideas
everywhere
Never fail
to fail Spark with
Be a
imagination Share
continue
everything
fuel with
platform to learn
data
and
iterate
9
Why IT Organizations with Traditional IT Service
Delivery Models and Practices Struggle to be
Responsive – and Struggle to Support Innovation
Gartner’s TCO analysis shows
that 80% to 85% of an IT
organization’s budget is
consumed by simply “keeping
the lights on” (KTLO).
Backlog of
IT Projects
100%
Capacity
for New
Projects
80%
60%
40%
KTLO
(Enhance,
Maintain,
Operate)
20%
0%
IT Budget
10
Consumerization Has Radically Changed User
Expectations for Enterprise Apps
Source: Innovator’s Guide (Mendix)
11
To Remain Relevant, Higher-Ed IT Units must Reduce the
Amount of Change-Induced Resource Consumption – the
Key Enabler for Lowering KTLO and Becoming more
Responsive
Pace-based
Application
Change Strategy
Platform-based IT
Service Strategy &
Tools
Lower the changeinduced resource
consumption
Reduce the app
development overhead
for all IT service providers
•
•
•
Innovation &
differentiation apps need
to change frequently
Whereas, the core codesets for ERP & other
system-of-record apps do
not
•
Shorten the app
development time
Accommodate local workprocess and workflow
differences
Responsive IT
Operations &
Services
Value Creation
•
•
Improved
decision-making
Improved
processes
12
Transformation Strategy
Pace-based Application
Change Strategy
Innovation &
Pilot Project
Apps
App Systems
that Create
Differentiation
All Other
Mission Critical
Apps (ERP, etc.)
Daily or
Weekly
Changes
Monthly or
Quarterly
Changes
Semi-annual or
Annual
Changes
Platform-based IT Services
Strategy & Tools
- Buy or build new apps with robust sets
of APIs
- Configure, but do NOT customize base
code sets for newly acquired apps
- Publish APIs for all new apps
- STOP customizing legacy apps
- Publish APIs for legacy apps
- Change &/or add functionality “on
top” of new & legacy apps using APIs &
modern app development platforms
- Use mobile-ready, change-friendly app
development platforms & toolkits
13
Unlock Business Value & Enable Innovation
BUILD Applications
Better & Faster
• Reduce time to
market
• Accelerate app
development by
10x
RESPOND Quickly to
Changes &
Opportunities
• Capitalize on new
opportunities
before they are
gone
• Accommodate
constant updates
ENABLE the Business
& Accelerate
Innovation
• Eliminate project
backlog bottlenecks
• Open platforms to
extension by others
14
Transformations in Responsiveness and Support for
Innovation within the IT@MIT Ecosystem
“Value-Add” for
Distributed IT Units
Distributed IT Capacity
for New Projects
Central (IS&T) Capacity
for New Projects
KTLO
Reduction
Productivity
Expansion
IS&T
Transformation
Central (IS&T) Capcity
Consumed "Keepingthe-Lights-On"
15
Timeline
✔
Jan-Jun
• Listening Tour &
Community
Engagement
(Consensus
Vision, Goals, &
Guiding
Principles)
Jul-Aug
• Formulate
Findings &
Develop
Strategies for
Realizing the
Vision
•
•
•
•
SepOct
• Community
Engagement in
Finalizing IT
Strategies
NovDec
• Approval of IT
Strategic Plan &
Publication of
Implementation
Roadmaps
Technology plan & associated proof-of-concepts
Financial plan & associated funding models
Governance plan & associated policy agenda
Communications plan & associated collaboration platforms
16
If you believe in the power
of people connecting…
…embrace platforms
If you converted your
product/service to a
platform…
…what would it enable?
17
Thank You!
Questions or Comments?
18