Last night, I was talking with a friend of mine who does software
engineering at a Fortune 50 company when the topic of the recent emergence of
the concept of the Web as a platform came up. We both agreed that most
topics, publications and discussions related to this subject (also referred to
as overly billed Web 2.0) consisted of a lot of speculation, a great deal of
bandwagon jumping, a healthy dose of hype. But we also breached the subject of
why the concept of using the web as a platform is so enticing and at the same
time potentially revolutionary. The reasons we kicked around centered around
the ever increasing ubiquity of internet access, the openess of its
protocols, a low barrier of entry, the creation of an enhanced concept of
connectivity/collaboration, and the ability to essentially plug-and-play using
existing infrastructure.
While discussing the last two reasons, the gears started turning in my head and
I started thinking about how platforms are all about exposing exisiting
infrastructure towards the goal of basically encouraging others to use the
platform. This is what the Web has done so well: provided an infrastructure
upon which value can be built.
I then made the connection between some of the other issues I've observed
within the analyst industry. These issues are, namely: the lack of exchange and
collaboration, the need for transparency and the lack of fluidity between
people, companies and organizations that it most benefits to be connected. In
today's age where technology is moving faster than any one person or company
can stay up to speed with, sharing and exchange is critical. Open source
software and the blogosphere have shown the power of the 'group mind.' It is time
the analyst industry join the party and begin to really embrace the reality
that transparency, collaboration and open exchange pay big time dividends.
The best way to allow this to happen naturally is to change from the inside
out, starting with the way that industry analyst companies view their
operations. In order for the very companies who seem to most need to learn the
value of transparency and exchange they must begin to view themselves as platforms.
As platforms each is capable of offering (exposing) services to
customers, partners, the general public. Just like the Web does, each platform
would provide the means on top of which added value is created, because at the
end of the day its success is measured by how integral a platform becomes to
others around it.
Taking this approach analyst companies would begin to look for new and
improved ways to package what they have to offer so that it can be exposed to
the outside world. All of the sudden, experience, domain specific knowledge,
etc. would go from being viewed as a protected asset to being a potential value
aggregator. For example, without the web I wouldn't have a blog and this very
entry that I am writing would probably still exist in my head but would only
generate value so far as I could share and exchange it with others in some
form. The same can be said for industry analysis, the more exposure the more
value.
The more analysts embrace an open attitude about our work the more we
benefit. Not because of some altruistic ideal, but because opening up enables
us to better solicit assistance, formalize ideas, and stay current with
external issues that affect our work. Think about the benefits of exchanging
notes about companies and products that are being covered by other
analysts/analyst firms. Would this type of collaboration really threaten each
participating party’s revenue stream or competitive advantages? No. However,
the benefits would be outstanding by comparison: being able to integrate
colleagues’ views and information with your own and gain a better view of the
industry wide outlook regarding a particular subject. Granted this type of
exchange is already taking place, but considering the connected reach of the
Internet it should be occurring at an exponential rate.
The key concept of any platform is the services that it offers. For example,
the TypePad platform offers services related to the creation and maintenance of
online web blogs. Users are presented with tools that enable them to interact
with their web blogs through authoring, design, and control mechanisms.
However, TypePad also realizes that it isn’t the only game in town when it
comes to offering access to the blogosphere, so it builds collaboration into
its offering(s). TypePad makes it easy for you to weave related topics across
other blogs together using standards like RSS. If industry analysts began
conduct business in a like manner, it would help address the very issues that
currently plague us.
Embracing the concept of industry analysts as platforms will highlight the
need to continually look to connect with outside parties in a transparent,
standardized manner. Instead of viewing customers solely as a source of revenue
they become vital components that contribute the life of the platform.
Competitors are turned into participants within the service ecosystem that each
platform controls. Transparency becomes necessary in order to attract others to
the platform, instead of a ‘byword’ that gets thrown around in blogs like this
one. In other words, progress is made.
The next part of this series is going to focus on how the practical
applications of the concept of platforms within the analyst industry.
The one thing not frequently mentioned is us customer types also desire more two-way open dialog with analyst firms...
Posted by: James | June 28, 2006 at 02:10 PM
just like a large red ball. its wonderful.
Posted by: Wireless Barcode Scanner | April 19, 2010 at 08:11 AM