Platform Ecosystems

Amrit Tiwana is a professor of MIS in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. He has also held joint appointments in computer science and management departments, giving him a unique vantage point to author Platform Ecosystems. Professor Tiwana also advises in the United States, Europe, and Japan industry consortia, government agencies, and major technology companies such as IBM, UPS, NTT Japan, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Toshiba, Mitsui, Mitsubishi Electric, Sumitomo Steel, Kansai Electric, Sony, Eli Lilly & Company, Japan Electronics and IT Industry Association, and Finland’s INFORTE. Platform Ecosystems builds on recent research developments in information systems, software engineering, and business strategy. Professor Tiwana has been a direct contributor to research in peer-reviewed journals in all three fields. Dr. Tiwana is the best-selling author of The Knowledge Management Toolkit (Prentice Hall), which is translated into several foreign languages, widely used in business schools, and has continuously been in print since it first appeared 15 years ago. He received his doctorate from Georgia State University.

"Platform Ecosystems provides an extremely innovative and insightful approach to decode the value creation of platforms and apps. Amrit Tiwana has written a very provocative guide that will help every executive to reconsider their firms' strategic position and potential to deliver products and services via platforms. A must-read for anyone interested in the next generation business." --Eric van Heck, Professor of Information Management and Markets, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University"In “Platform Ecosystems,” Amrit Tiwana delivers a most timely and in-depth perspective of this exciting topic. Ecosystems are at the heart of all modern economic activity and the most powerful known ecosystems have a “platform” at their core, driven by a strong player leading their ecosystem, inviting and mutually boosting the value-add by other players. The combinatorial multipliers of successful ecosystem lead to the competition of entire ecosystems. Understanding the key drivers and mechanisms of platform ecosystems is critically important when contemplating competitive strategies." --Clemens Szyperski, Microsoft

• IntroductionPART I: The Rise of Platforms1. The Rise of Platforms2. Core Concepts and Principles3. Why Platform Businesses are Unlike Product or Service Businesses 4. The Value Proposition of PlatformsPART II: Architecture and Governance5. Platform Architecture 6. Platform Governance PART III: Dynamics and Metrics of Ecosystem Evolution7. Metrics of Evolution8. Real Options Thinking 9. Modular OperatorsPART IV: Orchestrating Evolution 10. Evolving a Platform11. Evolving an AppPART V: The Road Ahead 12. Why Every Product is a Platform Waiting to HappenReferencesGlossary