When will I get access to the course?

Once your payment is successfully processed, you’ll receive an email granting you access to the course content within two hours. To maximize your 90-day access period, we strongly recommend logging into the course platform as soon as you receive this notification. If you plan to pay online using a credit card, you may do so at any time. If you’ve selected an alternative payment method, please allow additional time for processing: Western Union - 3 business days Domestic Wire - 5 business days International Wire - 14 business days Loans - 12 business days

What are the learning requirements in order to successfully complete the course, and how are grades assigned?

Participants in Winning with Digital Platforms are eligible for a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Business School Online. Participants are expected to fully complete all coursework in a thoughtful and timely manner. This means completing each course module and fully answering questions posed therein by the required deadline. In addition to module assignment completion, we expect participation in the social learning elements of the course by offering feedback on others’ reflections and contributing to conversations on the platform. Participants who fail to complete the course requirements won’t receive a certificate or be eligible to retake the course. More detailed information on course requirements will be communicated at the start of the program. No grades are assigned for Winning with Digital Platforms. Participants will be evaluated as complete or not complete.

Can you tell me a little more about the capstone?

The capstone activity involves applying the course concepts to a real-life startup platform company, Picabuu. Each module will culminate in a series of questions you’ll be asked to answer as if you were advising Picabuu on its platform strategy and challenges. Note, however, that no coursework you complete will actually be provided to the company.

What materials will I have access to after completing Winning with Digital Platforms?

You’ll have access to the materials in every prior module as you progress through the program. At the end of each module, you’ll also receive a downloadable PDF summary of the main takeaways. We hope these serve as a helpful resource after you finish the course. Access to course materials and the course platform ends after the 90-day on-demand access window.

How should I list my certificate on my resume?

Once you've earned your Certificate of Completion, list it on your resume along with the date of completion: Harvard Business School Online Certificate in Winning with Digital Platforms [On Demand Start Month and Year] List your certificate on your LinkedIn profile under "Education" with the language from the Credential Verification page: School: Harvard Business School Online Dates Attended: [The year you participated in the program] Degree: Other; Certificate in Winning with Digital Platforms Field of Study: Leave blank Grade: "Complete" Activities and Societies: Leave blank Description: Winning with Digital Platforms is a 5-module, 30–35-hour online certificate program from Harvard Business School. Winning with Digital Platforms is designed for those who want to launch, scale, maintain, or work with a successful platform business. Participants explore platforms’ unique properties, opportunities, and risks and learn how to develop scalable strategies that deliver a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Digital Transformation & AI

Winning with Digital Platforms

Explore how digital platforms scale through network effects and learn strategies for building, managing, and competing with platform businesses.

Format
On-Demand
Time
30-35 hrs, 6-7 hrs/module
Price
$1,949

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Key Concepts

Define what platforms are and how they create and capture value
Understand network effects and how to leverage them to achieve growth
Discover how to launch, scale, and maintain a successful platform business
Overcome operational challenges associated with developing, overseeing, or interacting with a platform business
Explore strategies for transitioning a product or service into a platform
Build offensive and defensive plans to effectively develop or compete against platform companies

Who Will Benefit

Explore platforms’ associated opportunities and risks to inform your organization’s strategic planning and new business development.

Understanding what a platform is and why someone would use one is crucial. The dynamics of consumption are important to consider. This course helps you see the world in a new way. The language it uses is beneficial not only in the tech world but in innovation.
Fulgence-Guy Yango

What You'll Earn

Learn More

**Certificate of Completion**
Boost your resume with a Certificate of Completion from HBS Online
Earn by: Completing this course

Harvard Business School Online certificate awarded to Jenny Yang for specialization in entrepreneurship and innovation. — **Certificate of Specialization**
Prove your mastery of entrepreneurship and innovation or digital transformation and AI with a Certificate of Specialization
Earn by: completing any three courses within either subject area to earn a Certificate of Specialization

82%

Felt more confident leading initiatives at work

11X

Return on investment, with 24% of HBS Online learners reporting an average $20,466 salary increase

91%

Acquired new skills that were immediately applicable

Course Syllabus

5 Modules, 30-35 Hours

Download full syllabus (pdf)

Module 1

Platform Fundamentals

6 Hours

Explore what platforms are, how they create and capture value for users, and the primary mechanisms that allow them to scale.

Highlights

0:23

How Picabuu Started

0:22

Keeping High Performance Scores at Ze

Module 2

Scaling and Sustaining a Platform (Part 1)

6 Hours

Differentiate types of network effects and apply strategies a platform can use to strengthen them. Recognize and examine the characteristics of multi-homing and network clusters and assess new markets based on network shape.

Highlights

0:48

Positives of Multi-homing

0:28

Picabuu and Clustering

Module 3

Scaling and Sustaining a Platform (Part 2)

6 Hours

Understand the chicken-or-egg problem and disintermediation and develop strategies for overcoming them, and summarize how network bridging can increase a platform’s value.

Highlights

0:46

Zhima Credit

0:34

Chicken-or-Egg and Growth at Picabuu

Module 4

Transforming into a Platform Firm

7 Hours

Explain the benefits of transitioning a product or service into a platform, determine the business scenarios best suited for the change, and describe common operational challenges traditional firms face when transitioning to a platform model.

Highlights

0:19

New Ways of Creating Value

0:40

Lessons Learned

Concepts

Shifts in Operating Models
Navigating Transition
Is Transitioning to a Platform Right for You?

Featured Exercises

Articulate the benefits of transitioning a product or service into a platform
Detect and anticipate how to manage conflicts in business models
Advise a startup platform, Picabuu, on how it might acquire new customers
Sketch an idea for a platform that a company you’re familiar with might launch and determine the transition’s feasibility and obstacles
Module Review and Capstone

Module 5

Working with Platforms

5 Hours

Explain why traditional companies must learn how to work with platform businesses to thrive and the associated benefits and risks. Explore factors that make it more likely for a platform to encroach on your business and defense strategies to combat it and why all organizations must be aware of political trends and public sentiment surrounding competition and fair business practices.

Highlights

0:20

Open and Closed Platforms

0:36

Amazon’s Encroachment

Concepts

Coopetition: The Complementor-Competitor Dynamic
Risks
Defensive Strategies
Navigating Regulations

Featured Exercise

Explain the benefits and risks of partnering with platform companies
Evaluate the optimal means of gathering data
Explore defensive strategies companies can use to ward off platform encroachment
Consider the benefits of open versus closed platform models
Advise a startup platform, Picabuu, on the top two pieces of advice to prioritize as it prepares to launch
Module Review and Capstone

Led by World-Renowned HBS Faculty

HBS Online courses are taught by Harvard Business School faculty, bringing the renowned HBS classroom experience directly to you.

Experience

Immersive Learning

Stay active by engaging in a new activity every three to five minutes.

Learn how to craft successful business strategy through the power of economics.

Real-World Connections

Get social by collaborating with a global community of peers before, during, and after your course. Learners who successfully complete an HBS Online program will be added to the HBS Online Community's Official Networking Group and gain exclusive access to events and other networking opportunities.

See how the HBS Online course platform engages you in social learning. You exchange ideas, offer input, and seek out viewpoints from a community of learners gathered from around the globe. In the process, you learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives, and leave the program with a broader outlook on the world.

Real-World Cases

Immerse yourself in real-world, case-based examples brought to life by HBS faculty and industry-leading experts from companies like EbonyLife Group, Bloomberg L.P., Fasten, Zé Delivery, Picabuu, X Fire Paintball & Airsoft, and Zhubajie (ZBJ).

Our courses allow you to apply your learning through
real-world examples and experience Harvard Business School’s signature case
method. Business leaders will share challenges they’ve faced. As the story
unfolds, you’ll leverage course concepts, vital tools and frameworks, and the
diversity of your peers’ perspectives to analyze the problem and determine a
path forward.

Real-World Outcomes