Good morning, As you will see in your inboxes momentarily, I wrote a new post on Stratechery called Two Microsofts about Microsoft’s decision to make Office free on mobile for consumers. The big takeaway is that, if you look at Microsoft through the lens of business models, they are already two different companies: one consumer,Subscribe […]
2014
Two Microsofts
My well-chronicled frustration with Microsoft’s corporate strategy comes down to one point: I don’t think any company should have both horizontal (i.e. services) and vertical (i.e. devices) businesses. It creates conflicting incentives: a horizontal business should be great on every platform, while a vertical business should be differentiated. Thus, I was quite pleased when Satya […]
Daily Update: The Problem with Broadband in America, Alibaba, Xiaomi Smash Records on Singles Day
Good morning, Happy Singles Day! We’ll get to China, but we start in the United States. On to the update: The Problem with Broadband in America Big news from the White House: “Net neutrality” has been built into the fabric of the Internet since its creation — but it is also a principle that weSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Qualcomm’s Challenges, Uber’s Potential
Good morning, A quick update about the transition to a single membership level: Monthly Access members ($30/month) have all been transitioned to a standard Daily Update subscription ($10/month). I have prorated your payment and applied credit to future billings. If you would prefer a refund (the amounts will range from $1 to $20), please contactSubscribe […]
Podcast: Exponent Episode 024 – A Celebratory Goblet of Champagne
On the newest episode of Exponent, the podcast I co-host with James Allworth: In this week’s episode… The idea for Exponent was hatched when Ben and James were arguing about Ben’s article What Clayton Christensen Got Wrong a year ago. In this episode, we finally reach a resolution to the question about how Apple escapes […]
Daily Update: Initial Thoughts on Microsoft Office, Amazon Echo, WireLurker
Microsoft made a stunning announcement about Microsoft Office that both shows they understand their position and demonstrates how much delay cost them. Then, the Amazon Echo could be a much bigger deal that people think; it is a very different product than the Fire phone. Finally, a concerning new vector for malware on iOS.
Daily Update: Getting Xiaomi All Wrong, How is Slack Worth $1.2 billion?
Good morning, Let’s get to it – on to the update: Getting Xiaomi All Wrong Xiaomi’s financials (it is a private company) were leaked to the Wall Street Journal: A confidential document viewed by The Wall Street Journal shows that Xiaomi’s net profit nearly doubled last year, making it a lucrative business in an industrySubscribe […]
Daily Update: How Apple Pay Might Fail, Dropbox and Office, Amazon Prime Adds Cloud Storage
Good morning, Many of you have requested that I send Stratechery articles via email, just as I do the Daily Updates. I’m happy to announce that I will be doing just that from now on via the normal Stratechery email notification list. If you would like to receive Stratechery posts via email, please subscribe hereSubscribe […]
How Apple Creates Leverage, and the Future of Apple Pay
Apple attracts loyal customers through a superior user experience and leverages those customers against its partners.
Daily Update: Apple’s Seattle Office, The Imminent Demise of Radio, CNET Launches a Magazine
Good morning, We’re 70+ posts in on the Stratechery Forum, so check it out if you haven’t! A couple of quick notes to questions that came up: There is not an app, but the forum is fully responsive and works well on the phone. I myself have pinned the page to my start screen I’veSubscribe […]