The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business

Buoyed by the success of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, companies of all sizes are fundamentally rethinking how they do business. They are creating vibrant ecosystems, and in the process, reaping big rewards. In the tradition of The Long Tail, The Age of the Platform demonstrates how the world of business today is vastly different from that of even ten years ago. Today the most successful companies are operating under an entirely different business model-one predicated on collaboration, rapid development, emerging technologies, and externally driven innovation. The Age of the Platform introduces and describes a critical new business model, one essential to survive in today's increasingly fragmented and dynamic economy.

Without question, the Gang of Four has ascended to absolutely astounding heights. Yes, these companies excel via their superior use of technology. They have built incredible ecosystems. They've embraced partnerships and external innovation. Beyond all of this, The Gang of Four has defined an entirely new way of doing business: the platform.

A platform is simply a set of integrated planks.

The most powerful platforms today have two things in common:

• They are rooted in equally powerful technologies–and their intelligent usage. In other words, they differ from traditional platforms in that they are not predicated on physical assets, land, and natural resources.
• They benefit tremendously from vibrant ecosystems (read: partners, developers, users, customers, and communities).

While platforms inhere a great deal of potential commercial appeal and applications, they do not exist simply as a means for companies to hawk their wares. At their core, platforms today are primarily about consumer utility and communications. Finally, because consumer tastes change much faster than business' tastes, platforms today must adapt very quickly–or face obsolescence.