From Netscape to eHarmony: The High Risks and Big Rewards of Platform Markets 

Platforms are market structures that bring together complementary partners. Think eBay, which pairs buyers and sellers online, or credit cards, which similarly connect consumers and the companies with which they want to do business.

Platforms enable all sorts of relationships: Apple's iOS joins mobile software programmers and iPhone users; myriad online dating services couple potential life partners. In short, any company that matches two sides of a market is a platform.

Everyone uses platforms, and company fortunes are.....