Platforms are very popular, but they pose various risks.

Modern, internet-based platforms have developed with eBay, YouTube, Amazon Marketplace, or German companies like Immobilienscout24 and Check24. What they have in common are the (more or less open) physical or virtual infrastructures (platforms) on which providers and users meet and can derive benefits (value creation) through interactions. There is now a true hype surrounding the topic of platforms. After eleven of the current twenty most valuable global companies are platforms, not like in the past oil, trading companies, or banks, many companies themselves want to become a platform or already consider themselves as such. However, there is some ambiguity about what exactly constitutes a platform. Already, classic e-commerce providers are calling themselves platforms, even if they do not allow any external trading partners besides their own offerings. Or solutions in the industry are being referred to as platforms, but more accurately should be considered as building blocks, as they represent standard modules for different end products. True "platforms" within the platform economy, on the other hand, follow new rules and establish their own digital ecosystems. This includes the understanding that, in addition to their own range of products, competitive business partners are brought onto their infrastructure so that, collectively, an even greater selection at the best prices is possible for their shared customers. YouTube sets the example: Among the new rules of the platform economy is also the potential overlap of roles of participants on a platform: customers can be both demanders (in YouTube's case, viewers of videos) and providers or suppliers who are also customers (the so-called Multi-Side Effect). And beware: Not every company can or should be a platform! Because in addition to platforms, there are at least two other strategic positioning options that are equally suitable for generating profitable and sustainable competitive advantages in times of digital transformation: positioning as a function specialist or as a system integrator. Function specialists are - as their name suggests - experts and leaders in their field and benefit from high expertise, quality awareness, continuous innovation, and proven efficiency. They are the ones without whom platforms cannot provide their services. In YouTube's case, it's the video producer, in Lieferando.de's case, the pizza baker, and in Spotify's case, the musician. However, when it comes to assuming liability for the completion of a work, such as a property or a machine, we are no longer talking about the role of a function specialist, but rather a system integrator. In reality, Amazon is moving from being a platform to a system integrator with its own logistics, web services, stores, etc.