OBJECTIVE

In this course you will learn about the fundamentals of digital transformation, identify why platforms
beat products and how can you make your business a platform.

WHO IS THIS COURSE FOR?

The course is open to professionals who want to build, scale-up and monetize their platform and
implement strategies to give it a competitive edge and platform developers who would like to learn the
latest about platforms.

Previous batches have come from:

Industries: Banking, Software, Advertising, Telecom, Consulting and Healthcare.

Countries: United States, India, Brazil, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, UAE, South Africa,
Switzerland, Germany.

WHAT ARE THE LEARNING OUTCOMES?

At the end of this course, participants will learn to:

Define platform businesses, distinguishing among input suppliers, markets and true platforms, and why
these differences matter.

Recognize and know how to compete in winner-take-all markets, one and two-sided networks, and the
context of multi-homing.

Understand how traditional pricing models break down in the context of platforms, choosing from an
array of freemium, bundled, and two-sided pricing.

Address the barriers that firms face in trying to organize themselves as platform firms.

Develop strategies for launching new platforms when critical mass is important.

Articulate the process of making markets.

Identify the launch strategy for their platform to help them gain traction, and grow their platform by
leveraging modularity and APIs.

Develop recovery strategies in declining platform markets and understand timing in the cannibalization
of an old platform by a new one.

Understand the anti-trust implications of platform strategies and safe harbor defenses.

Gain insights into the impact and opportunities of adopting platform strategies in different industries.

This course provides an opportunity to work on real-life platform-related business ideas and case
studies. Industry examples covered include case studies from companies such as:

COURSE HIGHLIGHTS

80 Video Lectures

6 Assignments

1 Capstone Project

5 Case Studies

4 Webinars

8 Discussions

1 Text Book (Optional)

SYLLABUS

Module 1: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: FROM PRODUCTS TO PLATFORMS;

NETWORK EFFECTS
Pre-Work

a) Pre-read – Chapter 1 of Platform Revolution (Optional)

b) Pre-read – After Google Maps added navigation, the value of stand-alone GPS makers fell by as much
as 85%

Framework

a) The Product Service Business Model is Broken

b) Module Introduction & Definitions : Linear Vs Triangular Value Chains

c) What Changes : Marketing

d) What Changes : Finance

e) What Changes : Supply Chains

f) What Changes : Internal Organization

g) What Changes : Innovation

Application
a) Individual assignment – Reflective :Can you predict which elements of your business are likely to be
transformed by new competitors or new entrants?

_________________________________________

Module 2: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION CONCEPTS: MARKETS, ENVIRONMENT,

AND STRUCTURE
Pre-Work

a) Pre-read – Chapter 2 – Platform Revolution (Optional)

b) Apple vs. Google: Did Apple Learn Anything from its War with Microsoft?

Framework

a) Module Introduction

– Network Effects

– Business Platform Definitions

– Distinctive Challenges

b) Demand Vs Supply side scale economies

c) Tradition Linear Value Chain

d) Homing and Switching Costs

e) Two sided-networks

Application

a) Group Case Study – Intuit Quickbooks : From Product to Platform

_________________________________________

Module 3: DESIGNING YOUR DIGITAL BUSINESS MODEL FOR SUCCESS

Pre-Work

a) Pre-read – Chapter 3 and 6 –Platform Revolution (Optional)

b) Pre-read – How to value a free customer?

c) Pre-read – Strategies for Two-Sided Markets

d) Pre-read – Why does Amazon give away free chapters?

Framework

a) Pipe Thinking Vs Platform Thinking

b) Traditional Supply Chain & Creating a B2C Platform

c) So how do you design a platform? – 3 Principles of Platform Design

d) How do we optimize the platform value chain?

e) How Architecture Can Increase Network Effects

f) Minimum Viable Platform – LinkedIn Example

g) Monetization

h) Platform Flows & 4 ways to Monetize a Platform

Application

a) Individual Assignment – Upwork

_________________________________________

Module 4: LAUNCHING AND GROWING A DIGITAL PLATFORM

Pre-work

a) Pre-read – Chapter 5 – Platform Revolution (Optional)

b) Pre-read – Two-sided Platforms

c) Pre-read – Article – Google Health, Microsoft Health and WebMD

Framework

a) Module Introduction – Paypal story where Persistence Pays

b) 8 ways to solve the chicken-or-egg problem :

– Follow the Rabbit

– Piggyback Strategy

– Seeding Strategy

– The Marquee Strategy

– Single Side Strategy

– The Producer Evangelism Strategy

– Big Bang Strategy

– Micromarket Strategy

c) Network Effects : Consumer First

d) Network Effects : Producer first

e) Closing the Loop

f) Modularity : Introduction

g) Modularity : Architecture of Computer Industry

h) Modularity : Key to Cloud Computing : APIs

Application

a) Individual Assignment – Google Health, Microsoft Health Vault and WebMD

_________________________________________

Module 5: DESIGNING YOUR DIGITAL BUSINESS MODEL FOR SUCCESS

LAUNCHING AND GROWING A DIGITAL PLATFORM

LEVERAGING OPEN INNOVATION

Pre-work

a) Pre-read – Chapter 7– Platform Revolution (Optional)

b) Pre-read – Makerbot Case Study

Framework

a) Open Innovation – Use Internal & External Ideas

b) What is Openness and Does Openness Matter?

c) Business Platform – Microeconomies

d) Value Capture & Taxation of Platform Ecosystems

e) Impact of Openness Decisions

f) Google Reasserts Control over Android

g) Apple : What to Control and Absorb?

Application

a) Group Case Study – Makerbot Case

_________________________________________

Module 6: GOVERNING YOUR DIGITAL PLATFORM

Pre-work

a) Pre-read – Chapter 8– Platform Revolution (Optional)

b) Pre-read – SAP Case

Framework

a) Why Govern Platforms?

b) What do we mean by “Governance”?

c) How do you Govern Well? What are the tools?

d) Platform Regulatory Tools

e) Platform Governance Tools

Application

a) Group Case Study – SAP Case

_________________________________________
Module 7: STRATEGY AND COMPETITION IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Pre-work

a) Pre-read – Chapter 10 – Platform Revolution (Optional)

Framework

a) Why Platforms Beat Products

b) What Changes : Strategy

c) Why Platform Strategy Differs

d) Why Are The Old Competitors Not The New Competitors

e) Network Effects & Inverting the Firm Changes

_________________________________________

Module 8: DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ACROSS INDUSTRIES: A FUTURISTIC

VIEW
Framework

a) Platform disruption in the Media Industry

b) Platform Future in the Professional Services Industry

c) Platform Future in the Education Industry

d) Platform Future in the Finance Industry

e) Platform Future in the Healthcare Industry

f) Platform Future in the Energy Industry

g) Platform Future in Government

_________________________________________

Geoffrey Parker

Director, Master of Engineering Management Program, Dartmouth College

Visiting Scholar and Research Fellow, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE)