Webinar #2 – Data Products and Platform Organizations
In the second webinar from the Summer of Platform Organizations series, we brought together industry experts to explore the parallels and intersections between data products and platform organizations.
Boundaryless Team
In the second installment of the Summer of Platform Organizations series, the webinar discussed “Data products and Platform organizations”. This session hosted by Luca Ruggeri and Shruthi Prakash, played host to Paolo Platter, CTO and Co-Founder at Agile Lab and at Witboost, and Andrea Gioia, CTO at Quantica and Co-Founder at Blind Data.
This discussion delved into how organizations can unlock value by converging platform design principles and data mesh architecture, focusing on data products as essential components for innovation. This conversation explored understated parallels, and we hope it helps you dwell in new directions.
Data Products and Platform Organizations: The Intersection
The webinar kicked off with Luca highlighting the power of data-driven decision-making within platform organizations. He touched upon the importance of data in shaping the way organizations structure their internal and external interactions, and how the two drew parallels.
Andrea and Paolo shared a common vision of how Data mesh and Platform Thinking gelled, sharing how domain-driven design principles used in platform organization design overlap significantly with the concepts of data mesh, especially in decentralization and modularity.
Andrea emphasized the concept of domain-driven design, explaining how it allows organizations to create multiple models that solve specific business problems.
“Domain-driven design helps us break down complex systems into manageable components, which can then be interlinked to create ecosystems of value. This modular approach is vital to enabling innovation at scale,” he explained.
Paolo elaborated on this and explained how using data mesh enables organizations to break free from the traditional bottlenecks caused by centralized IT systems.
“The goal is to distribute ownership and accountability of data, allowing different teams to innovate independently while aligning with the company’s overall vision,” he said.
Data as a Product: Key Takeaways
A major focus of the webinar was on data products. We discussed how data products should be reusable and easily composable across different business domains, enabling agility and scalability in the ecosystem. Another critical look was into how data products can move from being used internally to becoming external offerings, underscoring the potential for organizations to capitalize on their data assets in the market.
Key Points to Remember:
- The Role of Autonomy and Trust: Much like platform organizations, autonomy and trust are foundational to the success of data products. Decentralized data ownership, with clear governance structures, ensures trustworthiness and creates a structured environment where teams can innovate.
- Business Applications and Scaling Data Products: Various finance, manufacturing, and marketing industries can adapt data products to drive efficiency and innovation. For example, a marketing team benefits from real-time data to create omnichannel strategies.
- Data Products as Modular Units: Like platform products, data products should be modular, reusable, and scalable to meet evolving business needs, helping innovation grow faster.
- Centralized or Distributed data solutions: who privileges the data source typically adopts the centralized approach, which is limiting, as we discussed. Privileging data consumer pushes the adoption of Data Mesh
- Cultural Shift: Adopting data mesh requires a significant cultural shift, similar to platform thinking. Key roles like data custodians, stewards, and governance leaders are as essential as product owners in platform organizations.
The webinar is an excellent look into the intersection of platform organizations and data mesh: Both concepts revolve around decentralization, composability, and modularity, with a common interest in enabling innovation through autonomy and trust.
For those looking to explore these concepts further, Boundaryless will continue exploring these themes in the following webinars.
Upcoming Webinars:
You can read about our upcoming webinars and sign up here.
- Webinar #3: Leadership in Entrepreneurial and Ecosystemic Platform Organizations
- Webinar #4: Effective Team Dynamics to Support Platform Organization Strategies
Workshop on Strategies and Structures for Product Portfolio Innovation
For those eager to explore these concepts further, and understand how to design and build your own strategies for product or portfolio innovation, here’s something for you:
Boundaryless, after its successful feat in an offline event, is organizing its first-ever online workshop on “Strategies and Structures for Product Portfolio Innovation.” This event is designed to equip professionals with the knowledge and tools necessary to effectively manage and innovate within product portfolios.
The program delves into strategic frameworks that align product development with overarching business goals, helping you achieve adaptability in dynamic markets. It focuses on building a culture of continuous innovation, ensuring that organizations remain competitive and forward-thinking.
