THE AGE OF THE PLATFORM: HOW AMAZON, APPLE, FACEBOOK, AND

GOOGLE HAVE REDEFINED BUSINESS

PostalVision 2020Phil Simon

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GET UP!

ON PLATFORMS“It seems to me that there are four companies that are exploiting platform strategies really well.”--Google Chairman Eric Schmidt All Things D Conference, 5.31.11

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THE GANG OF FOUR

WELCOME TO THE AGE OF THE

PLATFORM

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WHAT IS A PLATFORM?Little p vs. Big P

A fundamentally new business model embraced by scores of companies

A set of integrated planks: features, apps, products, or services

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GOOGLE IN 1998In 1998, Google wasn’t a platform; it was an amazing and very profitable search engine.

So, why change? Why become a platform?

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WHY GOOGLE BECAME A PLATFORM

In the Age of the Platform, even really powerful single-purpose companies can be cannibalized very quickly—something Google’s top brass has understood for quite some time.

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HOW GOOGLE BECAME A PLATFORM

By adding Gmail, Maps, Docs, Plus, Blogger, YouTube, and a bevy of planks, Google has become the powerful platform it is today.

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WHAT DO AMAZON, APPLE, FACEBOOK, AND GOOGLE HAVE IN COMMON?Frequently add important planks to their platforms

More consumer-oriented than business-oriented

Rooted in emerging technologies

And one more thing…

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ICONIC LEADERS

Photo from Fast Company

ON BUILDING PLATFORMSThere is no one right way, but…

Scale, experimentation, and speed are critical

It’s essential to add new and popular planks

The Gang of Four crosspolinates• Intelligently uses other platforms as planks in their own

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PLATFORMS: THEN AND NOW

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PLATFORMS: THEN AND NOW

ECOSYSTEMS PROMOTE EXTERNAL INNOVATION

Today, platforms hinge upon the strength of their ecosystems

•Partners, developers, users, customers, and communities

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ECOSYSTEMS PROMOTE EXTERNAL INNOVATION

Partners and developers need sufficient incentivesPartners and developers need powerful tools

• Open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) • Free Software Development Kits (SDKs)

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ECOSYSTEMS IN ACTION

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Photo from LA Times

ECOSYSTEMS IN ACTION

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ECOSYSTEMS IN ACTION

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE POSTAL SERVICE

There’s no one quick fix

Continuous evolution

It’s about culture more than technology

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ABOUT MEwww.philsimonsystems.comwww.theageoftheplatform.comtwitter.com/philsimonfacebook.com/theageoftheplatform

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