Why Platform Adoption?
RSands Consulting advises clients on the most effective ways to drive software platform adoption, and convert that adoption into revenue.
Why should you be focused on platform adoption as a core business strategy? Because today’s most advanced software, whether applications or infrastructure, is built from software platforms – code that is designed to be integrated, leveraged, reused, accessed by other code. If you’re building a business delivering software technology, you need to be focused on platform adoption. If your software has an API or web interface or is otherwise available for developers to leverage, your success is going to be directly proportional to who uses it, and how your platform adds value to their efforts. But software doesn’t develop itself. People – developers – develop software.
Developers are a tough audience. Their technical savvy and no-nonsense focus on engineering and innovation make them hard to please. They’re turned off by traditional marketing, and expect you to meet them more than half-way. You’ll need to understand them, partner with them, and help them succeed on their terms. Helping them succeed creates the business conditions that allow you to make money. But do you have a concrete plan to convert adoption of your technology into growth and profit? Do you really know what your developers want? Do you know how to engage with them and make your platform the winner in a super-competitive market? You need a trusted expert in platform business models, product and service strategy, and developer marketing to help you maximize your platform’s potential.
RSands Consulting will:
- Work with you to mutually understand your technology, goals, the competitive landscape, and your developer community and its needs,
- Collaborate with you to build a project proposal, including success metrics, that delivers results,
- Partner with you and your team to implement your project and follow-up with analysis and evaluation of results and fine-tuning of strategy.
Philosophy
Often, the most challenging aspect to a developer-focused platform adoption strategy is the inherent disconnect between traditional business models focused on licensing of proprietary technology, and the community-focused expectations of sophisticated developers. Developers will judge you and your platform based on what you say and do. They’ll adopt your platform if they trust and respect you, and your reputation will determine your success. Think of it as an embodiment of karma: your actions today will determine your future fortune. RSands Consulting understands this essential truth about adoption-led strategies. You’ll win with a business model that generates profitable revenue from increased adoption, while enhancing your reputation with developers. Then, programs, policies, and marketing activities that reinforce your Karma can lead to even more adoption and revenue.
RSands Consulting can help you design a business model with returns that multiply with adoption. And if you’ve already got an established platform business and strong developer mindshare and respect, RSands Consulting can advise you on techniques and best practices to make developers even more enthusiastic. As passionate advocates of you and your software, such developers are the best possible ambassadors of the goodwill and trust that motivate even more adoption and breakthrough business results.
There are trade-offs with this approach, and transitioning to an adoption-based business model can challenge established wisdom in your organization. The key to success is often the unwavering support and determination of top management to implement an adoption-based model even in the face of opposition from sales and business development, who have a vested interest in the status quo. But in today’s fast-evolving technology business, the status quo is a trap – the Innovator’s Dilemma. Your competition is attracting developers with open, community-based development and a culture of listening, respect, and collaboration – the kinds of consistent, principled behavior that build trust. Are you going to let your organization fall into this trap?
Establishing an engineering and management culture that can foster an adoption-led business strategy may require some hard decisions and fundamental change. RSands Consulting has experience in guiding this process, which can take time to bear fruit. There is no better time than now to put your organization in a better position to win. Engage RSands Consulting to gain the insight and experience you need to turn your platform investment into reward.