Comparing Platforms and Pipelines, While Invoking the Inner Nerd

Large Pipeline models have defined the way the internet is accessed in India over the past two decades. As hypothesized in our previous post, comparing the two is akin to comparing apples and oranges. This post is an attempt to do exactly that.

What is the appropriate way to visualize how Pipeline and Platform models interact with each other? In other words, did Amazon kill brick and mortar stores, or redefined the industry? Did Uber kill cab agencies, or merely eliminate long unaddressed inefficiencies? Will Wiom’s blitzkrieg kill off cable operators and smaller internet service providers, or uplift the way they access customers, and how India experiences the internet. The rhetoric makes catchy headlines, but the truth is in the nuance.

One way to abstractly conceptualize Platforms and Pipelines, is to draw on the programming paradigms of vectorized logic and loops.?

Vectorized code refers to a method of writing code where operations are performed element-wise on arrays or matrices, similar to how platform businesses offer a scalable, centralized platform for delivering products or services. The advantage of vectorized code is that it is more concise and easier to read than code written with loops, just as platform businesses offer a streamlined and simplified user experience. Moreover, it often provides a significant speedup compared to loop-based code because it leverages the highly optimized linear algebra libraries implemented in popular numerical computing packages, much like platform businesses leverage network effects to achieve greater efficiency and reach.

On the other hand, loops are a fundamental construct in programming and are used to repeat a set of operations for a specified number of iterations, similar to how pipeline businesses focus on delivering a specific product or service through a well-defined process. Loops are flexible and handle limited complexities slower, but are simpler to execute and manage. In other words, Pipeline businesses offer more diverse and specialized, customized solutions, but successful execution of a Platform is seldom straightforward, and tech-intensive.?

Wiom, at its essence, is a Platform intent on leveraging cutting edge technologies (or vectorized approaches) to fulfill 500 million dreams in the next 5 years. Follow this page to tune in to the Wiom story, and the unique problems only a platform approach can solve in India’s internet space . . .