The Big Bang: Understand the Extent
of Your Solar System
Concisely, you first need to baseline the platform or
core technology, uncovering and illuminating gaps in
capability and functionality. This baseline under-
standing will define gaps you need closed. Rule of
thumb: the earlier you are in the adoption cycle, the
more fractured will be your ecosystem of comple-
mentary toolsets.
Questions to ponder -
• What is your read on the platform’s functional
or operational gaps that could inhibit adoption?
• What are the “edges” in the platform that may
need additional capability?
The ecosystem will rise out of those gaps and edges.
Define the Orbits
At CTP we have a series of motions that define how
we work with our clients around cloud. We start first
with an assessment of existing capability, then move
to the migration process. Finally, we look at the oper-
ational component to ensure our clients can success-
fully run their public cloud environments. These
motions allow us to very quickly understand the
potential fit and scope of each potential partner or
technology.
Questions to ponder -
• What are the motions in your business that you
can easily articulate where you can use other
technologies?
• What is the relevant importance of those
motions to one another? Is one more important
than another?
Terraforming Planets
Partner planets will start to develop where your
motions map to the platform galaxy along its edges
and gaps. However, you need to find the important
big planets to focus on. In other words: how do you
choose the right habitable partner planets? Here are
some questions to drive your thought process in
choosing ecosystem partners:
• Do they have similar motions to you?
• Do they have a like sense of gravity in the
marketplace?
• Will they expand your ecosystem?
• Can their solution be leveraged across many
motions, or is it destined to a small edge use case?
• What is the anticipated lifespan of the solution?
Will it be replaced or rendered irrelevant by the
platform in the next 18 months?
• Is their solution extensible and adaptable? Can
you embed their functionality?
• Can this solution be used to simplify and reduce
choices and options?
• What regulatory mandated and compliant envi-
ronments has this solution been deployed in?
• How can we design this solution at scale, in a
highly available redundant fashion?
Platforms will expand, mature and die.
The lifecycle of a partner will change over
time. Through this process, their value
to you and yours to them will also change.
34 | THE DOPPLER | SPRING 2018