If you have managed to create a platform for your business that works well, it can be possible to turn it into a product. A platform as a product can be a great way to increase your influence, and to raise your visibility. But it is essential that your platform be attractive to developers.

Right now, the open source movement (Microsoft is even coming around to open source developers) is creating an interest in building on others' work and innovation. And while you don't have to be completely open source in order to offer your platform as a product, you do need to make it attractive if you want developers to take an interest.

Consider ways to improve your platform. Is it easy for developers to tweak to meet their needs? Is it reliable? Do you offer backward compatibility? Is it scalable? This goes beyond being extensible. Can your platform scale back down as well as extending?

Nearly all of the above questions are to do with flexibility. Flexibility is an important aspect of successful software products now. If your platform isn't flexible, developers won't be as interested in it.