Software Development Platforms: How satisfyingly good is it to own a business or build some type of platform? Have you ever wondered about the underlying surface of the expanding social media applications? What kind of platforms do they use to reach certain heights?
There are thousands of platforms, for example, Google Search, Facebook, AWS, Twilio, and also Bitcoin.
Though they all come under a single category ‘Platforms’, they are very different in how they build network effects, the kind of interactions they allow, approaches they follow, competitive strategies, and other methods.
Growing a flourishing platform is all about taking the right decision. To make the right choice in choosing the appropriate platform, you need to have a clear picture of the platform you’re planning to build.
We thought to make your work easy and help you learn different trade-offs for your platform.
Let’s slide right into the Top 5 mind-blowing software development platforms for exciting entrepreneurship.
1. Technology Platforms
Platforms like Twilio, Microsoft & AWS (Amazon Web Services) fall under this category. They are used as a base or infrastructure upon which other technologies or processes are developed for the end-user.
These platforms sell their services to developers and act behind the scene to the end-user. For instance, while OTTs like Netflix, Amazon Prime runs their streaming services on AWS, but top-level users interact solely with Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Remember, these do not rely on the interaction between the demand side and the supply side.
2. Interaction Networks
Facebook, WeChat, Telegram, and Bitcoin are a few examples of Interaction Networks. These enable interactions between specific participants.
Digital interactions can be in the form of messages, images, and voice calls. Users join this platform to interact which results in a primary network effect among the users.
Thus, this may be a one-sided platform, connecting participants of a similar kind.
3. Marketplaces
Amazon, eBay, Kickstarter, and UpWork are some examples of Marketplaces. Each marketplace has its own unique requirements, product categories, and audiences.
These are two-sided platforms connecting supply with demand. You’ll want to understand different strategies for selling on these platforms. They enable transactions between buyers and sellers.
Sellers attract the end-users with exciting offers, which results in more buyers. Products or services are offered by multiple sellers who compete on price, quality, quantity, etc.
4. Content Crowdsourcing Platforms
YouTube, Twitch, Crackle, and Yelp are some examples of Content crowd-sourcing platforms. They collect content in the form of videos, blog posts, and reviews and share it with a wide range of end-users.
Users interact with the platform and interaction is grounded on content unlike Interaction Networks, where interaction is anchored on specific accounts.
If more content is available on these platforms, more content consumers will join, making it more effective for content contributors, who in turn generate more valuable content.
5. Data Harvesting Platforms – Software Development Platforms
Waze, Google Maps, Salesforce, and OpenSignal are some of the examples, which lie under this platform. They offer useful services to the users and generate data through the usage of platform services.
Data collected from the users of the platform, serves as feedback to the service, thus making it more useful for users. The network effect in this kind of platform is based on data rather than users.
For example, Waze started as a Free map app for Nokia mobiles during a time when navigation services were costly.
Once there were enough users on the platform, the service value shifted from free to trafficked maps based on the data collected from all users of the service.
Benefits that might motivate you to invest in various platforms:
Increasing Innovation:
All companies do not have infinite resources, but you can dramatically expand those limits. Building a powerful business, allows you to make an ecosystem of developers, partners, who might contribute some brainstorming ideas to your company.
Quicker Response:
Platform companies move faster than their traditional trade-offs. When your core products and services change regularly, it forces your employees to
adopt the change swiftly. Think of Amazon, it first started off with selling books, now it sells almost everything necessary in today’s life.
A Bigger Customer Base: Software Development Platforms
More services and products lead to a huge number of consumers. In turn, you might end up growing your business at a tremendous rate.
Conclusion:
To be successful in sustainable business practices often require entrepreneurship and innovation. Entrepreneurs try to recognize new possibilities, new markets, and alternative futures.
Also, possess various types of qualities like a strong belief in themselves, openness to change, highly motivating, and responsible.
There are different sites to help you understand which platforms cater to your business models. The competition in this field has been going at an increasing rate, you should be more agile to the platforms you embrace.
Now, you should be able to pave your way through complex platform business models. Hope this helps entrepreneurs start, grow, and lead their businesses to greater heights.
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