Management of complementary platform-based software products

The concept of platforms emerges in an increasing number of industries and affects customers' changing expectations, industries themselves, and new technologies' availability.

Today, most platforms act as a technical foundation and distribution channel for complementary software products. Organizations can join platforms and use them to develop and distribute software products. They become complementors on the platforms. Platforms influence the motivations as well as the organization and affects software products of the complementors.

Among other things, when using platforms, complementors must accept the platforms' specifications (for example, the technologies to be used). These requirements lead to additional work for complementors. The effort for complementors increases if software products are to be offered in parallel on multiple platforms. This publication examines how platforms affect organizations that use multiple platforms. It gives organizations recommendations for action on how to accommodate the platforms' influence.