Welcome back. In this section on developers as the engine behind digital business models, we'll discuss several case studies of companies using developers as product extenders. There's an ever-growing list of companies which work with developers to extend the products making them more useful. For example, from SmartThings in smart home to Automatic in connected cars, and DJI in drones as we shall see. The most obvious example is the Apple iPhone. Apple's developer program led to the creation of over one million apps for the Apple app store. These apps are over one million features that make the iPhone more valuable for its users. Some of the features that Apple did not want to built into the iPhone, some of the features that address niche audiences, that Apple didn't want to take the risk of building. Think of golf, medical or flight tracker apps perhaps. Some are apps that Apple would have never thought of building. Think of the Flappy Birds App, an addictive bird-flying app that became an overnight success, as the most downloaded free app in January 2014, before famously, its creator shut it down. In the case of Apple, developers extend the iPhone as well as the iPad and Apple TV and Apple watch products, with features that Apple did not want to build, could not build or could not even have imagined building. SmartThings, acquired by Samsung, also uses developers to extend its smart home products. The SmartThings lineup consists of five products: a hub, four different types of sensors and a power outlet. These products connect with over 150 different third-party products from a dizzying variety; light bulbs, switches, dimmers, power outlets sensors, cameras, thermostats, speakers, fridges guards, doors, smoke detectors, water valves, and even cars. The SmartThings developer programs, then allows developers to connect their Samsung device ecosystem to thousands of smart home devices and millions of apps. Developers can also build apps to control and automate Samsung devices. Effectively, Samsung's SmartThings allows developers to extend the products of Samsung beyond what the company could ever accomplish on its own. Therefore, making SmartThings products more valuable to Samsung paying customers. Another company using developers to extend its product is Automatic.com. The company produces a connected car adapter that plugs into most modern cars. The adapter collects data about the car mileage, gas usage, performance, it's engine health and connects to the Cloud over a 3G connection. Automatic offers immediate assistance in the case of emergency and keeps track of where you park your car. Moreover, the adapter connects with over 20 third-party apps, for expense tracking, ride-sharing, trip tagging, car repairs, and driver coaching. Where it gets interesting is where Automatic connects with a cloud automation service called IFTTT which stands for, If This Then That. IFTTT allows developers to connect the car signals that Automatic collects, to dozens of applications, services and use cases. For example, turning your car on or off, getting a check engine light, arriving or leaving at a location can all trigger actions that can be then passed to a third party service. This way Automatic can log new trips, make connected lights flash red when I speed, or turn on the heating when I get home, or text my partner when I leave work. It's not just developers that can build these integrations. Any web-savvy user, can connect Automatic to Twitter, Dropbox, things like Philips Hue lights and more. Again, in this case Automatic uses developers and web-savvy users to extend the features of the connected car adapter that they sell. Another notable company which uses developers to extend its products is DJI. The China based company has been a manufacturer of drones since 2006 and today, is the market share leader. The company produces drones for aerial photography and videography as well as flight platforms and flight controllers. DJI has launched a developer program that allows developers to create drone-based applications for real estate, insurance, disaster response, education, tourism, construction, meteorology, and many more industries. The company also offers a flight platform that allows developers to customize not just the software, but also the hardware for their specific industry and application. In the next lesson, we'll discuss how companies are using developers as resellers and distributors.
