The Age of the Platform
How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business
By: Phil Simon
Published: October 22, 2011
Format: Paperback, 312 pages
ISBN-10: 0982930259
ISBN-13: 978-0982930250
Publisher: Motion Publishing
"Expenses aside for a moment, creating a robust platform does not just hinge on consistently developing great products or services. Rather, it requires a completely different mind-set. It must be at the core of a company's business model", write renowned technology expert and speaker Phil Simon in his revolutionary and insightful book The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business. The author describes why companies must embrace building a platform based business model, describes how a platform model works, and shares the experiences of the four leaders in using a platform based business ecosystem.
Phil Simon recognizes that both the internet as a whole and business in general are in a state of transition. The previous Web 2.0 based internet is now being transformed into Web 3.0, with major repercussions for any business leaders who fail to pay attention to the change. At the same time, business models are in a state of constant motion, whether the company leadership considers that change to be desirable or not. Phil Simon refers to this transformation of business reality as dynamic stability where companies must reevaluate the very fundamental underpinnings of their entire organization and its reason for existence. Phil Simon provides insights into the changes being made to business models, in real time, and what companies must do to survive and grow in the new platform based marketplace.
Phil Simon (photo left) demonstrates how the four leaders in platform based business models - Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google - redefined how business operates and introduced the platform model as the template for the twenty-first century. The author outlines how each of these successful companies created their unique platforms, each with its own planks, and their individual collaborative and widely based ecosystem. The author shows how these platforms were built, how they overcame their mistakes on the fly, and shares some predictions for the future of each company's platform.
Phil Simon shares the characteristics of the four highly successful platform based companies. He also presents a complete understanding of why the platform is not only powerful but is also essential to success in the new Web 3.0 business environment. Phil Simon points to the following important aspect of platforms:
* Platform components and characteristics
* The benefits of platforms
* The perils of platforms
* Tips for building a platform
* The emerging platforms and their potential
* The future of platforms and Web 3.0
For me, the power of the book is how Phil Simon demonstrates the importance of building a platform to achieve success in a Web 3.0 world. He describes why a platform is essential to create a business ecosystem were collaboration is a critical element. The author points out correctly that if business leaders fail to understand the concept of platforms, they will not be able to cope successfully with the radical transformation taking place on the internet and in the marketplace.
Phil Simon offers useful recommendations for developing a platform, and for avoiding the missteps that can derail a successful transition to a platform business model. Of real value in the book is how Phil Simon includes a crucial chapter on the perils of platforms and of the mistakes that await to snare the unwary. Phil Simon bolsters his case for platforms with the real world examples of successful platform builders Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. Overall, this is an excellent guide to the emerging business trend to platform based business models.
I highly recommend the important and must read book The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business by Phil Simon, to any business leaders who are serious about understanding the powerful emerging force of platform based business ecosystems. A failure to understand and embrace this revolutionary change in the marketplace could spell serious problems for those companies unwilling to meet the challenge of dynamic stability. This book is your essential guide to navigating and succeeding in a platform based ecosystem.
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