The third platform is a loosely-defined computing platform that includes technologies becoming commonly available early in the second decade of the twenty-first century.
Industry analysts and researchers have noted the impact of these technologies on business. Gartner refers to "the convergence and mutual reinforcement of four interdependent trends: social interaction, mobility, cloud, and information" as a "nexus of forces" that "is transforming the way people and businesses relate to technology". The International Data Corporation talks about "the 3rd Platform for IT growth and innovation, built on mobile devices, cloud services, social technologies, and big data". Other analysts have reported on the projected market for "third platform" technologies. The technologies on which the Third Platform is based are not universally agreed, but commonly include mobile computing, social media, cloud computing, and big data. The Internet of Things is sometimes included. Other technologies could be included also as they gain in importance.
The Open Platform 3.0 initiative of The Open Group aims to produce a consensus definition of the third platform, and identify open standards for it, to help enterprises gain business benefit from these technologies. This has produced an analysis of requirements.