The new “channel” for cloud platforms is that of the wide ecosystem of mobile and cloud developers. These independent software engineers and entrepreneurial technology company’s serve to accelerate the speed in which a the platform can provide new and distinctive value to its existing and new customers.
The developer ecosystem and new platform capabilities being delivered can serve as a powerful innovation engine that can inspire both the company and its customers to expect new services and value. The key success factor for any new platform, is a pure focus on adoption. For this corporate strategy to work however, investments regarding the developer’s experience surrounding the platform must be of primary concern. The profitability of the platform itself, must be viewed as a longer term success factor.
The investment to find, grow, and provide compelling business opportunities to a wide variety of developers is a serious corporate commitment, highly competitive, and a balanced mix of entrepreneurial risk taking with the platform’s brand quality and legal requirements. Most importantly, in order the for the strategy to actually work, developers not only have to adopt the platform’s functionality and associated developer and sales tools, but they must also be seen as channel evangelists.
In this way, it is extremely important to not take the talent and loyalty of a developer ecosystem for granted. For company’s launching new technology platforms, the business case must account for the strategic costs, cultural organizational alignment requirements, and ability to measure innovation metrics provided by these communities that clearly justifies the investment.
Modern Business Strategy, Experience, and Design 