Open source is free... so why does it cost me so much to keep my websites running? Why am I spending so much time updating my websites and not enough time using them? How do I consolidate my various websites across technologies and vendors into a single streamlined platform?

Imagine a world where you could manage your updates once and apply them to all of your web properties. A world where you could develop a new crazy awesome feature and immediately utilize it across all of your existing web properties.

In this session we are going to dive into the platform conversation and provide you with the answers to the following questions:

*What is a platform?
* Do I need a platform?
* How do I determine if building a platform is right for my organization?
* Where can I host my platform?
* How do I manage my platform (and does my hosting solution impact this)?
* What are the benefits (and considerations) of using a platform?

Target Audiences:

* Site owners looking to increase the efficiency of the digital ecosystem
* Architects looking to reduce the complexity of running/supporting multiple websites
* IT teams looking to follow the Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY) principle

Learning Objectives:

When you walk away from this session you should understand:

* If you should consider a platform for your organization.
* Approaches for building a platform.
* Where you can host your platform and how that impacts management.
* Benefits I can achieve by using a platform.

Slide Deck: https://www.slideshare.net/secret/rZJwU27Jxknb4m

Presenters: _doyle_, adam.weingarten