Platform Design Considerations for Transforming a SaaS Solution to a PaaS Offering

We target Software as a Service (SaaS) vendors currently investigating how to transform their solution towards a Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering. A PaaS offering includes partly opening up the solution for innovators to build additional components. Based on a design science research strategy and a case study from an enterprise feedback management system, five design considerations are presented. The considerations from the case are structured by support from a conceptual model for platforms comprising the categories: Technology, Governance and Marketplace. The design considerations concern legal arrangements, degree of technical openness, maintenance plan, attractive marketplace and quality assurance of components. The paper ends with a call for further investigation of platform design with a focus on how the design influences the collaborative arrangements on the platform.