1

Platform Thinking

IT Partners ConferenceJune 17, 2014

John Charles

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

Microsoft opened their platform, licensed widely, and built a huge developer ecosystem. Apple kept their product closed.

Source: Parker & Van Alstyne

3

Model T Platform

Flour Mill

Mobile Church

Sawmill

Race Car

Hay Carrier

Snowmobile

Goat Carrier

You know your business model is working when users of your platform do something you didn’t expect

4

“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

Does Open Work?

5

Platform provider focuses on most valuable apps

Value increases as others add to

platform’s “Long Tail”

Source: Van Alstyne (2014), “Platform Shift: How New Biz Models are Changing the Shape of Industry”

Valu

e

Platform Thinking – What Changes?

Strategy• Goal is transactions volume &

creating user value• Don’t need to own the one-off

resources/apps – simply convince those providers to join you

Innovation• Platforms can be adapted to countless

needs & niches that the platform’s original developers could not possibly imagine

6

The Pace of Change Seemed Somewhat Linear in the Past – but its Exponential Nature is Now Clearly Apparent

7

1990’s

2010

’s

Chan

ge

Time

But, we must now optimize for:• Time to market• Rapid changes• User experience

We optimized for:• Performance• Reliability• Cost

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

Think big but

start small

Strive for continual

innovation- not

instant perfection

Look for ideas every-where

Share everything

Spark with imagination -

fuel with data

Be a platform

Never fail to fail -

continue to learn

and iterate

9

Why IT Organizations with Traditional IT Service Delivery Models and Practices Struggle to be

Responsive – and Struggle to Support Innovation

IT Budget0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

Capacity for New ProjectsKTLO (En-hance, Maintain, Operate)

Gartner’s TCO analysis shows that 80% to 85% of an IT organization’s budget is consumed by simply “keeping the lights on” (KTLO).

10

Backlog of IT Projects

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

Responsive IT Operations &

Services

12

Lower the change-induced resource consumption• Innovation &

differentiation apps need to change frequently

• Whereas, the core code-sets for ERP & other system-of-record apps do not

Reduce the app development overhead for all IT service providers• Shorten the app

development time• Accommodate local work-

process and workflow differences

Value Creation• Improved

decision-making• Improved

processes

Transformation Strategy

Innovation & Pilot Project

Apps

Daily or Weekly Changes

App Systems that Create

Differentiation

Monthly or Quarterly Changes

All Other Mission Critical Apps (ERP, etc.)

Semi-annual or Annual

Changes

- 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

Pace-based Application Change Strategy

Platform-based IT Services Strategy & Tools

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

15

Series1

Distributed IT Capacity for New Projects

Central (IS&T) Capacity for New Projects

Central (IS&T) Capcity Consumed "Keeping-the-Lights-On"

Baseline IT

Resource Profile

Early “Wins”

Systematic Redesign

Efforts

“Agile” IT Ecosystem Profile

“Value-Add” for Distributed IT Units

IS&T Transformation

KTLO Reduction

Productivity Expansion

Timeline

Jan-Jun

• Listening Tour & Community Engagement (Consensus Vision, Goals, & Guiding Principles)

Jul-Aug

• Formulate Findings & Develop Strategies for Realizing the Vision

Sep-Oct

• Community Engagement in Finalizing IT Strategies

Nov-Dec

• Approval of IT Strategic Plan & Publication of Implementation Roadmaps

16

✔

• Technology plan & associated proof-of-concepts• Financial plan & associated funding models• Governance plan & associated policy agenda• Communications plan & associated collaboration platforms

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