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.
Recommended Citation
Gustavsson, Mikael and Ljungberg, Jan, "Platformization of a Cloud Service" (2019). ICIS 2019 Proceedings. 7.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2019/innov_entre/innov_entre/7
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.