What is platform strategy?
Platform strategy means creating value by connecting groups of users, such as buyers and sellers, where each side attracts the other. Marshall Van Alstyne, Geoffrey Parker and Sangeet Paul Choudary contrasted platforms with pipeline businesses in a 2016 Harvard Business Review article. In their framing, a traditional business makes something and pushes it to buyers. A platform earns its place by matching the people on each side and setting the rules for how they deal with each other.
Why it matters to a revenue leader
In commercial services, platforms can appear as facility management marketplaces or procurement networks that sit between the buyer and the provider. When a buyer sources work through a platform, the provider's relationship runs through someone else's rules and fees. A revenue leader needs a view on which platforms to join and how much of the book can depend on them.
Example
Fictitious numbersA janitorial company joins a facility services marketplace and wins 60 small sites in a year. The marketplace takes a 12% fee and owns the customer relationship, so renewals depend on platform ratings. The company keeps the channel for small sites and sells direct to multi-site accounts.
"How much of our revenue depends on a platform we do not control?"