Platform Strategy: Building and Thriving in a Vibrant Ecosystem

Platform Strategy: Building and Thriving in a Vibrant Ecosystem

Item No. a056g00000URaZVAA1
Course Dates Format Duration Time Commitment Price
Apr 22-May 7, 2024 Live Online 10 days 2-3 hours/day $5,100
Oct 21-29, 2024 Blended 2 days 8 hours/day in-person + 4 hours live online $5,100

Tracks

Digital Business

Certificate Credits

2.5 EEUs

Topics

- Digital Business & IT

- Strategy & Innovation

- Business Analytics

Course Highlights

  • Choose from either our live online or blended format enabling real-time interaction with faculty and global peers
  • Gain robust insights into how you can refresh your company’s digital platform strategy and participate profitably in the multi-sided marketplaces of the future
  • Earn a certificate of course completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management

Please note: The Spring 2024 session of this course takes place live online for 2-3hrs a day over 10 days: Apr 22-26, Apr 29-May 2, and May 7. The Fall 2024 session of this course is a blended format. Oct 21: 8-10am (Live Online), Oct 24-25 (In Person - Cambridge, MA), Oct 29: 8-10am (Live Online). Review the sample schedule section for more information on these sessions.

 

Course snapshot

 

Why attend Platform Strategy?

Over the past two decades, some of the most profitable and successful firms are those that have adopted a digital platform model—a platform strategy whereby the company allows two or more disparate groups to interact over a platform to co-create value. For example, website developers and users on Akamai, recruiters and employees on LinkedIn, and drivers and customers on Uber. Participants eager to develop or launch a digital platform approach will learn why and how their business strategies may need to be revised to be successful.

In 2018, eight of the top ten global brands (according to Brandz) were digital platform-orientated companies —companies that created and now dominate arenas in which buyers, sellers, and a variety of third parties are connected in real time. In today’s networked age, the cloud, social media, and mobile devices are fueling this platform competition, and more and more companies want in. However, many companies fail in becoming platform leaders because their technology and/or business strategies fall short.

While many digital platform strategies are well known (e.g., Apple’s iTunes), there are other less-heralded platforms that are exploring new ways to create and capture value. These include dynamic pricing, usage fees, highly targeted product and service offerings, inbound marketing, and network effects.

Key questions the faculty explore in this course include

  • Is a customer segment with the highest “willingness to pay” the most valuable segment?
  • When is tying a customer to a platform (sometimes called “lock in”) counter-productive?
  • Which pricing formats seem to boost revenues but slow platform adoption?
  • How can companies get in front of the common evolution patterns of platforms?
  • When should leaders be wary of “platform envy?”

 

Course experience

This unique program is offered in two formats: one is blended with an opening session online, two days in person, and a final session online. The other runs over the course of three weeks online, allowing participants more time to digest content and apply their learnings real time with a mini-project. No matter the format, experienced managers will emerge with robust insights into how they can refresh their company’s digital platform strategy and participate profitably in the multi-sided marketplaces of the future.

Learn more about the live online experience.  

Learn more about the in-person experience

Applying to the course

We accept enrollments until the offering reaches capacity, at which point we will maintain a waitlist. Many of the courses fill up several weeks in advance, so we advise that you enroll as early as possible to secure your seat.

You can begin the application process by using the red 'Enroll Now' bar at the bottom of the screen.

 

Have questions?

Contact us if you would like to speak with a program director or visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to common questions about our courses.

Upon successful completion of your course, you will earn a certificate of completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management. This course may also count toward MIT Sloan Executive Certificate requirements.

 

By the end of this course, participants should be able to

  • Identify examples of traditional and non-traditional forms of digital platforms
  • Describe the common evolution patterns of multisided platforms, including same-side vs. cross-side network effects
  • Identify customer and user groups whose affiliation with the platform is most valuable
  • Decide whether to try to “tie” customers to a platform or not – the value of open vs. proprietary networks
  • Design strategies to undermine an established platform or to defend against such attacks
  • Describe the principles of platform pricing and how to inform the design of an effective pricing format
  • Recognize the concrete implications of trade-offs in platform design, governance, and staging
  • Decide whether a given value proposition is best developed as a stand-alone platform, as a complement embedded into another platform’s ecosystem,or whether to pivot away from digital platform strategies all together.

 

The course will cover these cases and important examples of digital platform strategy

  • Skylanders
  • Keurig
  • Akamai
  • Ebooks
  • Dropbox v. Google Drive
  • Roppongi Hills
  • E-Harmony
  • BluRay v. HD DVD
  • Netflix v. HBO v. Hulu v. Amazon prime
  • Uber v. Lyft
  • The “Digital Oilfield”

 

Testimonial from past course participant Niloy C.

Sample Schedule—Subject to Change

This course is intended for leaders of

  • Corporate strategy and business development
  • Marketing
  • Product & service development
  • R&D and innovation
  • Application development and content management

 

Testimonial from past course participant Basit W.

Course Dates Format Duration Time Commitment Price
Apr 22-May 7, 2024 Live Online 10 days 2-3 hours/day $5,100
Oct 21-29, 2024 Blended 2 days 8 hours/day in-person + 4 hours live online $5,100

Tracks

Digital Business

Certificate Credits

2.5 EEUs

Topics

- Digital Business & IT

- Strategy & Innovation

- Business Analytics

Enroll Now!

$5,100