Paper ID

2113

Paper Type

full

Description

The digital platform has in a few years emerged as a key concept to depict a new kind of business model, organizational form and technical architecture. The transformational power of platforms is manifested by the notion of “platformization”, referring to the drive towards the platform as a dominant infrastructural and economic model.  In this paper, we analyze the nature of platformization processes and platform dynamics. We do this by applying a historical case study approach to the evolution of one digital platform, Microsoft Azure. By presenting three narratives we show how Microsoft Azure, has evolved from being mainly an efficient cloud computing and storage service to become a cloud platform, enabling digital capabilities and innovation at an unprecedented scale. We then discuss how this transformation towards a platform, was shaped by both the evolving digital materiality of the artefacts especially in terms of convergence and generativity, and the discursive work conducted by Microsoft through their official Microsoft Azure blog. We contribute with increased knowledge of innovative cloud platforms more specifically, and platform dynamics and platformization processes more generally.

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Platformization of a Cloud Service

The digital platform has in a few years emerged as a key concept to depict a new kind of business model, organizational form and technical architecture. The transformational power of platforms is manifested by the notion of “platformization”, referring to the drive towards the platform as a dominant infrastructural and economic model.  In this paper, we analyze the nature of platformization processes and platform dynamics. We do this by applying a historical case study approach to the evolution of one digital platform, Microsoft Azure. By presenting three narratives we show how Microsoft Azure, has evolved from being mainly an efficient cloud computing and storage service to become a cloud platform, enabling digital capabilities and innovation at an unprecedented scale. We then discuss how this transformation towards a platform, was shaped by both the evolving digital materiality of the artefacts especially in terms of convergence and generativity, and the discursive work conducted by Microsoft through their official Microsoft Azure blog. We contribute with increased knowledge of innovative cloud platforms more specifically, and platform dynamics and platformization processes more generally.