Platform strategy within the technology ecosystem: A case study of big 5 tech companies

Abstract

Business platforms offer the opportunity to create a value exchange environment, where companies have no longer resources, but act as intermediaries that mediate value-creating interactions between providers and customers. The shift from pipeline to platform business model has significant implications in the current business environment. It is difficult to live in the digital world outside the ecosystem created by the big technology companies, as they are driving the direction of change. Such companies are also called 'Network Orchestrator Companies', as their business model may be influenced by every aspect of the digital economy. The aim of the paper is to analyse platform businesses within the technology ecosystem based on a multiple-case study. The unique character of the technology ecosystem, which incorporates the power to connect, share, enhance and change all the core elements involved, offers a tech company the chance to set up a neat business strategy that would be both profitable and sustainable, enabling decision making about its resources. This paper discusses platform approaches from three viewpoints: openness, the user attraction strategy and the technology acquisitions made by the company to increase its user base. Following big five multinational technology companies have been selected: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook. They focus on the optimization and orchestration of their platform interactions and use resulted data ecosystem as a drive for positive effects within their platforms. As a result, the study identifies the platforms which are most innovative for the tech ecosystem and describes how the value is created and captured.