As online technology continues to advance in 2025, the options for creating and building digital platforms are more expansive – and complex – than ever. In today’s “platform economy,” platform-based businesses (from e-commerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba to ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft) have disrupted traditional models by connecting users in new ways. These digital advances create exciting opportunities for modern enterprises, but they also pose challenges. Many organizations are responding by focusing on optimizing their platform strategy. In this post, we’ll examine what platform strategy means, why it matters for your business success, and how it connects to the 3E Framework and three digital pillars we use at Ndevr to drive resilience, stability, and growth.
What is Platform Strategy?
In simple terms, platform strategy is an approach to entering and competing in a market by leveraging a digital platform that connects different user groups. A platform can be any environment – computing or otherwise – that facilitates interactions and transactions between parties. For example, an app store connects developers and users, and a marketplace connects buyers and sellers. What makes platforms powerful is the concept of network effects: the platform’s value increases as more participants join and interact. In other words, each additional user can make the platform more beneficial for everyone.
According to MIT Sloan, platforms “connect different groups and derive benefits from others participating in the platform,” and a platform strategy “revolves around allowing platform participants to benefit from the presence of others.” In essence, a platform strategy defines how an organization will deliver value by enabling these interactions. It’s not just a tech choice, but a business model decision. An organization’s platform strategy determines how they deliver and monetize their offerings and how they bring participants (customers, partners, developers, etc.) together for mutual benefit.
Platform strategy encompasses both technical and business considerations. On the technical side, it involves selecting and optimizing the right digital platforms (web, mobile, cloud services, etc.) and building an IT architecture that can support them. On the strategic side, it involves defining the platform’s purpose, the user experience, and how multiple platforms or services work together to provide value. As Gartner emphasizes, an effective platform strategy must integrate both business objectives and IT capabilities under a unified vision. It’s a cross-functional effort that aligns technology choices with the company’s long-term business goals.
Developing a platform strategy includes asking key questions such as:
- What partnerships or third-party integrations will add value to our platform?
- How will target audiences interact with the platform (e.g. via web, mobile, voice assistants)?
- How will we monetize offerings on the platform (subscription, commissions, ads, etc.)?
- How agile and scalable is the platform as our business grows?
- What expansion capabilities (new features, markets, or users) will be needed in the future?
- How well do our platforms integrate with each other and with legacy systems?
- Which digital environments (cloud, social media, IoT, mobile) should we operate in?
Answering these questions helps define the fundamental structure of an organization’s online efforts. A real-world example of an effective platform strategy is Google’s Android with the Google Play app marketplace. By partnering with third-party developers to offer free and paid apps to Android users, Google created a thriving ecosystem that attracted more users and developers. This platform strategy of expanding value through an open app marketplace helped Android eclipse former smartphone giants like Nokia and BlackBerry. In short, platform strategy is about building the foundational blueprint for how your digital platform(s) will operate, deliver value, and grow.
Why Does Platform Strategy Matter?
A well-crafted platform strategy is crucial in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. The pace of innovation in cloud, mobile, social media, and now AI and IoT technologies means that the way companies deliver value must continuously adapt. Organizations without a clear platform strategy risk falling behind more agile competitors. Here are a few key reasons why platform strategy matters:
- Handling Technological Change: Rapid advances in technology create both opportunities and challenges. New channels and devices for reaching customers appear every year. By 2025, forecasts suggest there will be over 75 billion connected IoT devices globally. A platform strategy prepares companies to accommodate this explosion of devices and touchpoints by setting a flexible technology framework. Businesses want to avoid scrambling to restructure their IT infrastructure every time they expand or a new tech trend emerges.
- Gaining Competitive Advantage: A great product alone isn’t enough if your competitors have a superior platform that is faster, more connected, or offers a better ecosystem. Properly designed platforms can unlock new economic value and create network effects that drive exponential growth and innovation across a user and partner ecosystem.
- Enhancing User Experience and Engagement: Modern consumers expect seamless, integrated experiences. A thought-out platform strategy ensures that users can access your offerings easily across channels and that these touchpoints work together. At Ndevr, we align this with our 3E Framework—Efficiency, Experience, and Engagement—to ensure that your platform not only performs but excels in every interaction.
- Avoiding Platform Fragility: Without a solid strategy, companies often end up with patchwork digital solutions that can crumble under pressure. Platform fragility—an unstable, overly complex, or poorly integrated platform infrastructure—is a serious risk. That’s why Ndevr emphasizes proactive strategy and engineering that mitigates risk and builds confidence.
- Future-Proofing the Business: A forward-looking platform strategy saves time and resources in the long run. It ensures your organization is ready for growth, integration, and innovation as the digital landscape evolves.
How Ndevr Approaches Platform Strategy
At Ndevr, we anchor every digital solution around three foundational pillars:
- Audience Experience – We ensure that every site we build is fast, accessible, and optimized for engagement. From Core Web Vitals to intuitive navigation, we focus on delivering seamless experiences that retain and grow readership.
- Creator Experience – Editorial teams should be empowered, not hindered, by their tools. We streamline workflows, reduce friction, and build CMS solutions that support rapid publishing without compromising quality.
- Developer Experience – A stable, scalable backend is critical for resilience. We prioritize efficient deployments, minimal downtime, and infrastructure that supports both current and future business needs.
These pillars work in harmony with our 3E Framework—Efficiency, Experience, and Engagement—which guides how we design and execute every platform strategy. By focusing on these areas together, we help media and enterprise clients reduce downtime, increase content output, and unlock new revenue opportunities.
Conclusion
The rapid innovation of online technology has made platform strategy a top priority for modern enterprises. To remain competitive and resilient, organizations must go beyond offering quality products or services – they need to strategically plan how those offerings are delivered via digital platforms. A well-defined platform strategy ties together your brand vision, technology stack, and business model, ensuring they all work in concert to drive growth.
In the coming years, a company’s ability to grow and adapt will heavily depend on the effectiveness of its platform strategy. While great products will always matter, the strategic ways those products reach and engage customers will often make the biggest difference in a hyper-connected, global digital marketplace.
The bottom line: platform strategy matters more than ever in 2025. It is the blueprint for how your business harnesses technology to deliver value. By proactively developing a strong platform strategy—anchored in your audience, creator, and developer experience—you position your business to scale, adapt, and thrive.
Ready to optimize and scale your platform? For guidance in developing an effective platform strategy tailored to your goals, contact Ndevr today to see how our experts can help you turn your digital platform into a growth engine.
FAQs
Q: How do companies measure the success of their platform strategy?
A: Common success metrics include user growth, engagement rates, and revenue. It’s important to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) – such as active users, transaction volumes, or customer retention – that reflect the platform’s performance and alignment with business goals.
Q: What are common pitfalls in implementing a platform strategy?
A: Challenges often arise from a lack of user-centric design, insufficient platform governance, and failure to adapt to market changes. For example, neglecting the developer or partner ecosystem can stall growth, and not investing in scalability can lead to downtime.
Q: Can you provide examples of successful platform strategy implementations?
A: Companies like Amazon and Apple are standout examples. Amazon’s e-commerce marketplace and AWS cloud services demonstrate a platform strategy that connects a vast ecosystem of sellers, buyers, and developers. Apple, through its App Store and integrated ecosystem, has created a loyal community of users and developers. These companies leveraged platform models to enhance user engagement and build strong, self-reinforcing ecosystems.
