Apple has won through integration, but integration combined with network effects and economies of scale can result in bad outcomes that look a lot like monopolies.
Google and Ambient Computing
Google presented a vision of ambient computing that goes beyond the smartphone. The company is well-placed, but faces challenges both in the marketplace and in the mirror.
What Is a Tech Company?
The question of “What is a tech company” comes down to how much software and its unique characteristics affects the company’s core business.
Privacy Fundamentalism Follow-up, Peloton’s S-1, Peloton and Disruption
Answering two criticisms of Privacy Fundamentalism, and then looking at Peloton’s S-1 and answering the question as to whether or not they are a tech company through the lens of disruption.
Shopify and the Power of Platforms
It is all but impossible to beat an Aggregator head-on, as Walmart is trying to do with Amazon. The solution instead is to build a platform like Shopify.
Walmart’s E-Commerce Struggles, Textbook Disruption, The Benefits of Not Competing
Walmart is struggling in ecommerce for very predictable reasons; the company — and economy — is better off leveraging its assets and not competing directly with Amazon.
AMD Launches 7nm Chips, Sony Partners with Microsoft, Apple and AWS
AMD leapfrogs Intel thanks to modularity, Sony partners with Microsoft thanks to scale, and Apple balances both.
Apple’s Services Event
Apple’s Services Event generally made sense, even if most products weren’t ready to launch. It’s fair to wonder, though, if something important is being lost.
The Value Chain Constraint
Companies succeed or fail not based on technology but rather according to their ability to integrate within their value chains.
Walmart Earnings, Walmart’s Grocery Business, Amazon’s Grocery Stumbles
Walmart’s earning suggest that the company’s online grocery business is doing well, even while Amazon struggles. This is not a surprise, given the two companies points of integration.