A look back at platform evolutions throughout history can give hints to how software platforms will change the future.
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Great platform innovations can do much more than cut costs and improve efficiency—they are capable of redefining how meaning and value are delivered to the world. As we look into the metaphorical crystal ball and ask “what’s next?” in software innovation, it’s clear to me that platform thinking is the answer. A look back at platform evolutions throughout history can give hints to how software platforms will change the future.
Platform-Driven Revolutions Throughout History
Historically, platform shifts have always unlocked new capabilities by normalizing complexity and reducing friction. The Phoenician alphabet made writing accessible, for example, while Gutenberg’s printing press revolutionized knowledge distribution. In the early 1900s, Henry Ford’s assembly line standardized industrial production. Decades later, the iPhone and App Store transformed mobile software and commerce.
What Could a Software Platform Revolution Look like?
Today, the world runs on software and data, but much of it is still delivered in chaotic, fragmented ways. The next great platform evolution will be about normalizing the cloud and datacenter landscape, making software and data delivery as seamless as previous generations made writing, knowledge, and production. Key developments:
- Platforms create efficiency. Before the Ford assembly line, cars were built by hand, each one crafted at a stationary workstation. Similarly, without platforms, software innovation is slow and wasteful. Every new software system shouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel on deployment, security, or scalability.
- Platforms enable innovation. When developers don’t have to worry about deployment, security, or scalability, they can focus on value creation. Think about how the App Store allowed developers to focus on innovation rather than details like payment processing and device compatibility.
- Platforms create leverage. Platforms take what’s scattered and inconsistent and forge it into something repeatable, scalable, and high impact. Look at the power of Gutenberg’s printing press, allowing for the mass production of books that previously required months of hand-copying.
- Platforms allow for democratization. Just as the iPhone put computing power in everyone’s pocket, tomorrow’s software platforms will make advanced capabilities available even to non-technical users. The line between who creates and who consumes technology will be further blurred as artificial intelligence (AI) tools change coding and the traditional software developer’s role.
- Platforms connect. With a platform often comes an inherent network effect. The more people use a platform, the more valuable it becomes for everyone. The App Store example is relevant here as well: The more developers build apps, the more valuable the platform becomes for users, and the more users join, the more attractive it becomes for developers to build apps. Similarly, the more a software platform is used, the more powerful it becomes.
Looking at history, these platform shifts seem inevitable. It’s not a question of if but when. Those who position themselves to lean into this evolution now will be ready to make the most of it.
Redefining Software Value Through Platforms
In the future, success in the software world will require more than building the next big product. It will require defining how that product fits into platforms and, more largely, how software and data flow to the world. The companies that win will be the ones that leverage platforms to drive meaning and value.
