Do You Own Your Platform?

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Show notes:

• difference between a product and platform
• platform is a collection of modules and tools
• a platform is extensible, programmable, consists of reusable pieces and components
• desirable qualities in a platform and various considerations
  • a platform is a living being to some extent
  • availability
  • stability
  • performance
  • how easy is it to fix when things break
  • adaptability
• the iceberg analogy – most of your product is invisible, but this can cause problems
• how do you select the right technology for your platform?
  • important not have bias
  • products are short-lived, where platforms last a long time, so important to make the right choices in your platform.
  • it is good to depend on standards to avoid lock-in to one tool/technology
  • the wrong solutions do not scale
  • have a network of experts you can reach out to and get the information you need
  • knowing who to ask is the superpower in this age
• why you need some level of control over your platform
  • damage control: solve problems when they arise
  • moving things forward: can it be modified as new requirements come up
• building platforms for reuse
  • build systems are important
  • automation
  • continuous integration
• The Yoe Distribution and the Simple IoT project are examples of platforms that are re-usable and flexible, and applicable for a wide range of projects
• recomposable platforms scale not just vertically, but horizontally, which is the real power of them
• a lot of up-front discipline goes into this
• you create a platform not only for others, but yourself
  • you respect the APIs in the same way you expect others to respect them
  • APIs as a contract become very important
• Most people can track product costs very well. Platform costs are harder to track and are an investment in the future
  • example of an embedded Linux platform that goes into a product that lives for many years. A lot of work is required upfront to get the base system running, but then you can build on it for years.
  • A more constrained platform like a MCU + RTOS tends to be not as extensible and more limited to a product.
• Two kinds of platforms
  • Transaction platforms: facebook, twitter, etc
  • Innovation platforms: what we’ve been talking about
• personal platform
  • write things down
  • when helping someone, instead of emailing or messaging the solution, I write down the solution in some type of long lived documentation, and then share that documentation with them.
• do you own your platform?
  • owning your platform is more of a mindset rather than an rigid absolute
    • are you willing to learn and own the details of your platform
  • with OSS we not only use it, but we also have the option to be part of it

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