B2B cloud platforms connect two or more customer groups through web-based software. Examples include Medidata, Dealertrack, Visa, and MasterCard. Building one requires deciding which customers to target first, how to price them, and what value proposition to offer.
Software Platform Consulting helps companies build B2B cloud platforms. If you're thinking, "What the heck does that mean?" Let me explain. B2B means businesses selling to other businesses, but you already knew that. The cloud part means software you can access with just a web browser, but you knew that too. The part that sometimes gets a little confusing is the term "platform." By platform, I mean a cloud software service that creates value by bringing together two or more groups of customers to interact with each other. In the consumer-to-consumer world, or business-to-consumer worlds, these platforms are everywhere. eBay brought together buyers and sellers of Pez dispensers, and eventually lots of other stuff. eBay even bought PayPal, a payment platform, so we could stop sending each other paper checks. Airbnb brings homeowners together with travelers. Uber brings car owners together with riders. Facebook brings together users. Advertisers, and game developers. LinkedIn brings together professionals, recruiters, and advertisers. Angie's List brings together homeowners with contractors. You get the idea. These platforms are called all sorts of things: multi-sided platforms, marketplaces, industry clouds, networks, and catalysts. Whatever you call them, they are intermediaries that bring together two or more different types of customers to make interactions happen in a new and exciting way. But those examples are all for consumers. What about B2B? Well, Medidata brings together pharma companies, investigators, clinical research organizations, and their patients for clinical trials. Dealertrack built an auto retail platform to bring together dealers, lenders, third-party apps, and information providers like credit bureaus. And the two most famous B2B platforms are in payments: Visa and MasterCard. There are dozens more platforms fighting to dominate all sorts of industries and business processes. B2B cloud platforms can be great businesses, generating buku profits for extended periods. But they can be hard to build. There are lots of tough questions to answer. That's where Software Platform Consulting comes in. Based on my experience helping build platforms in a wide variety of industries, I help companies figure out which customer groups to capture first, how to price each group, how to organize the platform for success, and which of 9 different value propositions to offer. To learn more, see— To contact me, just email.
