Platforms

Throughout human history, technological improvements have ushered in many developments that have truly shaped human progress. We may like to think of human development as something gradual, made up of small, comfortingly manageable incremental improvements. But the reality is that sudden bursts of energy, often unleashed by or in tandem with technological breakthroughs, have moved mankind forward They are groundbreaking at the time of their inception, but they are added to the aggregate of human progress that we call everyday.

The rise of technology has demonstrated the importance and power of platforms. Platforms are means of allowing companies or individuals to communicate with each other to get things done more quickly or more efficiently, They aid communication; they also enhance delivery. They do so by establishing the common standards that come to be the accepted norms. Platforms can be seen as applied technology.

At the heart of a platform are two characteristics. They are open and communal. Openness does not mean they are freely available without payment, It means that the technology that powers them is accessible to a wide range of users. The communality of platforms means that they can then be used by others who have the same needs. They can be adapted, but their importance relies on their continuous applicability to solve real-life, real-time problems. Platforms build upon one another, drawing upon the skills and breakthroughs of previous platforms.

Some of the most current global platforms are English as the language of the global society, economy, and cyberspace, the MS Windows computer operating system, the ATM platform that allows cash to be dispensed to bank costumers form locations distant from traditional banks, the credit and smart cards, GPS

Adapted from “The Next Global Stage, Challenges and Opportunities in our Borderless World”. Kenichi Ohmae, New Jersey, Pearson Education, Inc, Publishing as Wharton School Publishin, 2005.