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BUx: Platform Strategy for Business

4.2 stars
16 ratings

Learn how you can design, launch, monetize and compete in a networked platform market.

6 weeks
4–8 hours per week
Instructor-paced
Instructor-led on a course schedule
This course is archived
Platform Strategy for Business

About this course

Skip About this course

Firms such as Apple, Alibaba, Facebook, SalesForce, Uber and Yelp operate platform ecosystems that match buyers and sellers, gain value and market share from network effects, and harness their users to innovate.

This course teaches you how to convert products to platforms and how to innovate in a platform environment. You will learn how to negotiate platform startup, convert existing products to platforms, and make vital decisions on issues of openness, cannibalization, and competition.

Learners in this course will solve real-life problems using concepts from two sided networks, information asymmetry, pricing, intellectual property, and game theory.

The instructor for this course literally wrote the book on the topic: " Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy --and How to Make Them Work for You. "

This course is part of both the Digital Leadership and Product Management MicroMasters programs.

At a glance

  • Institution: BUx
  • Subject: Business & Management
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Prerequisites:
    • Secondary school (high school) algebra; basic mathematics concepts
    • A willingness to explore economics
  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English

What you'll learn

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  • How to successfully launch and design a business platform
  • Why platform firms beat product firms and how the structure of platform firms is fundamentally different
  • Why traditional platform pricing models fail and how to choose a successful pricing model
  • How to compete in winner-take-all network markets.

Syllabus

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Week 1: Foundations
What's happening in the economy. Why platform firms are fundamentally different than product firms.

Week 2: Architecture
Components of and design principles of successful platforms.

Week 3: Launch
Strategies for solving the chicken-or-egg problem and how to gain critical mass.

Week 4: Monetization
Why pricing is different in platform markets and how to choose price.

Week 5: Open vs Closed
How Steve Jobs got it wrong the 1st time. How to choose what to give away and what to keep.

Week 6: Strategy
Why product strategies fail for platforms and how to compete in a network market.

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. edX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

This course is part of Digital Transformation Leadership MicroMasters Program

Learn more 
Expert instruction
5 graduate-level courses
9 months
4 - 7 hours per week

Ways to take this course

Choose your path when you enroll.

Certificate

Free

Price

$399 USD

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Access to course materials

Unlimited

Limited

World-class institutions and universities

edX support

Shareable certificate upon completion

Graded assignments and exams

Read our FAQsin a new tab about frequently asked questions on these tracks.

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