Platform Technologies
Summary
TLDRThe script explores the concept of platform technologies, illustrating how they enable the creation of diverse products and services through abstraction and bundling of components. It uses examples like the App Store, eBay, and LEGO to explain the two-tiered system architecture, where a foundational layer supports a platform layer that offers services via APIs. The script further delves into how this model fosters innovation, user engagement, and system flexibility, emphasizing the importance of platform technologies in today's advanced industrial economies.
Takeaways
- 🌐 The rise of the internet has led to the emergence of platform technologies, which are foundational to many modern services like the App Store and eBay.
- 🏭 The concept of platform model systems architecture is not new, dating back to the invention of farms, factories, and even LEGO building blocks.
- 🤖 People often overlook the complex systems behind technologies, focusing only on the end-user capabilities.
- 🔄 Advanced industrial economies rely on abstraction, where products and services are built upon platform technologies that allow for endless remixing of components.
- 🏦 The differentiation between services like banks often comes down to how they bundle and market platform-provided technologies rather than the technology itself.
- 🔑 Platform technology is defined as a foundational structure that enables the creation of various products without the need for new processes.
- 🔩 A platform technology system has two levels: a platform providing basic services and an application layer that configures these services for end-users.
- 🔧 Examples of platform technologies include hammers and cars, which are singular instances, versus an automobile platform that allows for various vehicle configurations.
- 💻 The personal computer is a clear example of platform technology, with the operating system acting as the platform layer and hardware as the foundation.
- 🏗️ The platform layer in systems architecture provides Lego-like building blocks to the application layer through APIs, allowing for diverse configurations.
- 🔑 The user interface layer translates the system's internal logic into a user-friendly language, ensuring ease of use and engagement for end-users.
Q & A
What is the significance of platform technologies in modern economies?
-Platform technologies play a significant role in modern economies by enabling the creation of various products and services through the power of abstraction. They allow for the bundling of different components to cater to diverse customer needs, thus driving innovation and growth.
How do platforms like the App Store or eBay exemplify the platform model?
-Platforms such as the App Store or eBay exemplify the platform model by providing a dynamic and innovative service that allows for the creation of various applications or transactions without the need for each individual to develop their own technology from scratch.
What is the difference between a homogeneous system like a hammer and a platform technology?
-A homogeneous system like a hammer is a single instance of technology with no differentiation between its infrastructure and application. In contrast, platform technology, such as an automobile platform, allows for the creation of multiple configurations and products using a common base.
Can you explain the two fundamental levels required for a platform technology system?
-A platform technology system requires two fundamental levels: a platform that provides basic services and an application layer that combines these services into various configurations to deliver technology to end-users.
What is the role of the foundation layer in a platform technology system?
-The foundation layer in a platform technology system serves as the base upon which the platform operates. It includes the hardware and low-level firmware that interfaces with the operating system, providing the necessary resources and services for the platform to function.
How does the application layer interact with the platform layer in a platform technology system?
-The application layer interacts with the platform layer by utilizing the services provided by the platform through APIs (Application Program Interfaces). Developers on this layer bundle these services to create finished applications for end-users.
Why is the user interface layer important in a platform technology system?
-The user interface layer is crucial as it translates the internal logic of the system into a language that end-users understand, allowing them to interact with the system with minimal effort and complexity.
What is meant by the 'amplification effect' in the context of platform technologies?
-The 'amplification effect' refers to the increase in the number of users or developers as we move up the levels of abstraction in a platform technology system. It signifies that there will be more application developers than platform developers, and more end-users than application developers, due to the ease of engagement and reduced complexity.
What are the benefits of using a platform model for systems architecture?
-Using a platform model for systems architecture benefits include abstracting away complexity, avoiding redundancies by providing common services, enabling user-generated systems, and creating flexible, adaptive, and evolutionary systems that can innovate and regenerate on the application level.
How does the platform model of systems architecture apply to industries beyond IT?
-The platform model of systems architecture is not limited to IT; it is a generic model that can be applied to the design of all complex engineered systems, providing a core infrastructure of common services and components that can be configured in various ways for different applications.
Outlines
🌐 The Rise of Platform Technologies
This paragraph discusses the evolution of platform technologies, highlighting how they have become integral to modern services like the App Store and eBay. It explains that these platforms are built on the concept of abstraction, allowing for endless combinations of components to create diverse products and services. The paragraph contrasts platform technologies with homogeneous systems like a hammer or a car, which cannot be reconfigured. It uses the example of a car platform to illustrate how a common base can support various models. The concept of a platform is further explored through the analogy of personal computers, where the operating system serves as the platform layer, abstracting the hardware and providing a foundation for application development. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding the different levels of abstraction in platform technologies, from the foundational hardware to the application layer, and the role of APIs in enabling this interaction.
🛠️ The Architecture of Platform Technologies
The second paragraph delves into the architecture of platform technologies, focusing on the user interface layer that translates complex system logic into a user-friendly experience. It discusses the concept of a 'solution stack,' which encompasses the various subsystems and layers of abstraction necessary for a platform to function fully without external dependencies. The paragraph explains how each level of abstraction simplifies complexity and reduces the engagement required from users or producers, leading to an amplification effect as one moves up the stack. This effect results in a larger number of application developers compared to platform developers and, in turn, even more end-users. The benefits of platform architecture are outlined, including the ability to abstract complexity, avoid redundancies, enable user-generated systems, and promote agility and innovation. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the relevance of this model to the design of all complex engineered systems, not just those in the IT sector.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Platform Technology
💡Abstraction
💡Infrastructure
💡Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
💡Application Layer
💡User Interface Layer
💡Amplification Effect
💡End-User
💡Common Services
💡Evolutionary Systems
Highlights
The rise of internet platforms has made technology a central part of modern innovation.
Platforms like App Store and eBay exemplify dynamic, innovative, and fast-growing services.
Platform model's two systems architecture has historical roots in industries like farming and manufacturing.
Advanced industrial economies rely on the power of abstraction for product and service creation.
Products and services are often remixes built from platform services, allowing for endless bundling.
The differentiation between banks often lies in the technology they purchase and how they bundle it.
Platform technology is defined as a base from which various products can emerge without new process introduction.
A platform must have two levels: a foundational layer and an application layer for service delivery.
An example of a non-platform technology is a hammer, which is a homogeneous system without differentiation.
An automobile platform allows for the creation of various vehicles from a common chassis.
Personal computers are a clear example of platform technologies with operating systems as the platform layer.
The foundation layer in technology is akin to hardware and firmware in computers, providing a base for the platform.
In business, the foundation layer might include economic systems and public services that enable operations.
The platform layer manages resources and services required by applications, providing 'Lego bricks' for building.
APIs or application program interfaces allow the application layer to access platform services.
The application layer is where developers create finished applications by bundling platform services.
The user interface layer translates system functionality into a language understandable by end-users.
The platform model simplifies complexity and amplifies the ease of engagement as we move up the solution stack.
Platform technologies are beneficial for creating flexible, adaptive, and evolutionary systems.
The platform model allows for innovation on the application level, regenerating the system continuously.
Transcripts
Oh
during the past few decades with the
rise of the internet platform
technologies have become the new cool
platforms like the App Store or eBay
have proven to be some of the most
dynamic innovative and fastest-growing
services but of course the platform
model two systems architecture has
always been there since the invention of
farms and factories to the making of
LEGO building blocks
when many people see a new technology at
work they don't usually consider all the
pieces that went into its creation
they simply see the amazing capabilities
and never give it much thought but
within advanced industrial economies
many products and services are enabled
by the power of abstraction
they are remixes built out of services
from platforms that enable the endless
bundling Andry bundling of different
components
so what is the difference between Bank
ABC at one end of your street and Bank
XYZ at the other not much really
they're both buying their technology
from a handful of platform technology
providers like IBM and Visa and bundling
the components in different ways to
appeal to different customers
according to our friend Wikipedia a
platform technology can be defined as a
structure or technology from which
various products can emerge without the
expense of a new process introduction in
order to achieve this our system needs
to be architected to have two
fundamentally different levels that is
it must have a platform providing the
basic services that can be combined into
different configurations on the
application layer to deliver various
instances of the technology to the
end-user but let's start by thinking
about what exactly an on platform
technology is take a hammer for example
it is a homogeneous system there is no
differentiation between the system's
infrastructure and its application they
are all just one thing it is an instance
of a hammer it cannot generate new and
different configurations of itself the
same can be said of a car it is an
instance of a technology the end-user
gets and uses the whole thing
to make the comparison clearer we could
compare the instance of a car with an
automobile platform that allows a motor
company to release several vehicles
built upon a common chassis which is the
platform with different engines
interiors and form factors for the same
or different vehicles and brands within
the company probably the clearest and
best example of platform technologies
are personal computers so let's spend
some time taking one of these computers
to pieces to better understand the
different level of abstraction to a
platform technology our platform in this
case is the computer's operating system
but before we can get to the platform
that's doing all the great work we need
a foundation for it to sit on that is a
set of enabling technologies in this
case our foundation layer is our
computer hardware and all our low-level
firmware that interfaces between it and
the operating system but within a
business our foundation layer might be
the economic system it is part of the
public services such as security rule of
law and maintenance of natural resources
that would enable our business to
function the same would be true of a
city it rests upon and is enabled by a
national infrastructure system the next
layer up from the foundations or
hardware is the platform itself the
computer's operating system in this case
it essentially manages the computer's
resources and services that will be
required by applications the platform
takes the resources available to it from
the infrastructure and creates the Lego
bricks that we will be using to build
things with these resources are
presented to producers on the
application level through what are
called api's or application program
interfaces
in our automotive factory the platform
would be the physical technologies in
the production line for creating the
cars parts our employees can rearrange
this production line to create different
vehicles or in our example of the city
this platform level might be the urban
utilities that contractors will
interface with to build offices and
residential spaces and there will be a
standard set of procedures for them to
do this
on top of the operating system lies the
application layer developers draw on the
services provided by the operating
system and bundle them in various
different combinations to deliver a
finished application to the end-user
apps in the App Store the car is coming
off our production line the buildings in
a city or the financial products offered
by a bank are examples of the
application layer endless configuration
and reconfigurations in response to the
perceived needs and feedback of the
end-users
lastly the user interface layer when the
end-user switches on their computer they
don't want to see zeros and ones or
lines of code they want to see things
they understand pictures of files and
nice drop-down menus the majority of
people who interface with the systems we
are architecting will do so so as to get
the maximum functionality out with the
minimum input of effort in order for
them to do this we need a layer that
translates the internal logic of the
system into a language they understand
this interface might be the dashboard on
our car or the receptionist in our
Hospital telling people where to go
whatever it is it is all about the
end-user the language they speak what
they need and how to translate the
systems functionality into a solution
that involves the participation of the
end-user so there we have it if we were
to continue with our analogy from the
world of IT we might call this a
solution stack the full set of
subsystems and layers of abstraction to
provide the platform's full
functionality without dependencies
an important thing to note is that as we
go up each level of abstraction towards
the end-user we are simplifying the
complexity and level of engagement
required those working on the platform
level require a deep understanding of
the system and have to deal with its
full complexity but are relatively
unconstrained those who engage with the
system who are on the application and
user level are constrained by what the
platform providers have designed but
being enabled by this technology they
will be able to do more with less input
and engagement
the net result is that we should get an
amplification effect as we go up the
solution stack due to the increased ease
of engagement thus there will be many
more application developers than there
are operations systems developers and
there will in turn the many more
end-users than there are application
developers and this should be the case
wherever we are using this platform
model to systems architecture
so lastly we might ask why should we
care about platform technologies well
there are a number of reasons this
architecture should be of benefit to us
firstly by distributing the system
across multiple layers we can abstract
away the complexity that users or
producers of the service have to deal
with everything gets its own space
secondly we can avoid redundancies by
having the platform provide common
services required by all components we
can reduce the need for each component
on the application layer to reinvent the
wheel thirdly platforms are the ideal
architecture for creating user generated
systems thus we can leverage the
amplification effect we discussed
earlier to do more with less helping to
maintain an agile core system
and lastly the platform architecture is
ideal for building flexible adaptive and
evolutionary systems given its
independence from fixed instances the
system can stay innovating on the
application level to continue
regenerating itself in this section we
have discussed the platform approach to
systems architecture that is centered
around the idea of creating a core
infrastructure of common services and
components which can then be bundled
into different configurations on the
application level we also looked at the
different levels of abstraction and
their primary features although drawing
heavily on analogies from the world of
IT this same model is sufficiently
generic to be relevant to the design of
all complex engineered systems
you
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