On Platforms
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The talk discusses the rise of platforms in the tech industry, highlighting the benefits of different service models such as SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS. It emphasizes the trade-offs between software and infrastructure, particularly regarding customization versus commoditization, and the importance of user experience. The speaker also raises concerns about risks associated with platform reliance, such as loss of control and potential long-term technical debt.
On Platforms
- 1. Why is everyone and their grandmother offering platforms ? #iforum
- 2. this.about Talk is in English Q&A at the end in English/Russian No code or technical details in this talk Restating the obvious
- 3. @olegpodsechin Russia, Finland, UK, Germany … Working with mediatech startups since before the bubble 30+ companies in total, expert on failure Do technical due diligence for investors
- 4. Breaking apart the Clouds Software as a Service (SaaS) Platform as a Service (PaaS) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Coined by Tim O'Reilly (but pretty self evident) Benefits of services: economies of scale, ease of maintenance, seamless upgrades and better revenue model (predictable cash flow)
- 5. Software vs. Infrastructure Software sell value, customized solutions low initial investment, higher profit margins closer to the users, higher risk? Infrastructure sell a utility, commoditized solutions high initial investment, race to the bottom closer to the hardware, lower risk?
- 6. Positive Network Effects Infrastructure: one VPS is just like another, only differentiator is price Software like Dropbox can differentiate itself with the user experience & brand (consumer awareness) Also able to tap into user base for promotion Charge each user for shared storage space, but pay IaaS provider only once (value vs. utility)
- 7. Platform Initiatives SalesForce Force.com, Heroku acquisition Akshell (full disclosure: I'm helping out) Google AppEngine, Microsoft Azure Amazon Web Services (AWS), Linode etc. Dell, HP moving into infrastructure, platforms
- 8. Why Platforms? A successful platform requires technology , users & developers – some have two of these covered, makes sense to leverage them “ When everybody is digging for gold, you should be selling shovels” - low risk, high yield Crowd source development; share common components Extend ecosystem (think API++)
- 9. Why not Platforms? Giving up control – no clear SLAs Introduce technical debt – trade short term benefits for potential long term pains Bait and switch – think Twitter Lock you in – think Amazon (without Eucalyptus)
- 10. Food for Thought Will I be able to run my service on top of this platform in one year, two years etc.?
- 11. Thank you for listening Questions? Feedback? @olegpodsechin