Differentiating Between Platforms and Products

Joel Martins

CTO, MicroEdge + Blackbaud

From Products to Platforms

Transformation

The Journey to the World of Platforms

Platforms You Already Know

“Products come with predefined business logic that narrows their ultimate

breadth of scope. Conversely, platforms separate out the logic functions of

applications so that an IT structure can be built for change.”

The Shift to Platform-Based Approaches

“Industry leaders are unleashing technology’s power by developing new technology platforms. But more than that, it’s the platform-based business models and strategies they

enable that are driving the most profound global macroeconomic change since the industrial revolution. In the digital economy, platform ecosystems are nothing less

than the foundation for new value creation.”

Accenture Technology Vision 2016

Benefits of Platform-Based Partnership Approaches

$2.6Tis how much

platform companies

represent in market

capitalization worldwide*

82%believe that

platforms will be the ‘glue’ that

brings organizations

together*

81%of executives say platform-based models will be core to their growth strategy in 3

years*

7

*From Accenture’s 2016 Technology Vision Survey Results

Platforms are Configurable

A customized system is developed specifically and only for one customer, locking organizations into a static workflow that can only be changed by hiring cost prohibitive engineers to make updates to the system’s code.

Configurable software is flexible, scalable and can be continually shaped to meet an organization’s industry-specific and organization-specific needs.

Eventually…

ConfiguredCustomized

Software Platforms are Open,

Accessible from Anywhere, Enable

Sharing of Technology, Encourage

Sharing of Information, and

Constantly Evolve and Change and

Adapt

Platforms are Open

An API is the Communication Protocol

SOAP (2000)

• Relies heavily on XML

• Codified in a “WSDL”

• Both Server and Client changes need to be in sync

REST with JSON (2007)

• Flexible.

• Becoming the defactostandard.

• Simple

Look – REST Is the Standard.

Platforms are Accessible Anywhere,

Anytime

Platforms Enable Sharing Technology

Platforms Enable Sharing Information

Platforms Constantly Evolve

Closing: A Philanthropic Platform of

the Future

Differentiating Between Platforms and Products

Joel Martins

CTO, MicroEdge + Blackbaud