How Amazon’s success with AWS make sense in the context of The Value Chain Constraint, and why Oculus and Facebook do not. Plus, why Microsoft’s approach to HoloLens 2 makes sense.
The Value Chain Constraint
Companies succeed or fail not based on technology but rather according to their ability to integrate within their value chains.
Satya Nadella on Microsoft
A transcript of a talk Satya Nadella gave on Microsoft to a small group of journalists.
AWS:reInvent and Outposts, AWS and Machine Learning; YouTube Retreats on Premium Video
The AWS re:Invent conference had two important themes: the importance of hybrid offerings and machine learnings; then, unsurprisingly, YouTube’s premium video efforts ended up not working out.
Google Cloud Changes CEOs, Layers of Surprise (or Not), The VMWare Analogy
Google Cloud has a new CEO: the news is a surprise at first glance, but may make more sense than it seems. To understand why, look at VMWare, outgoing Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene’s most famous startup.
IBM-Red Hat Follow-up, Microsoft’s Earnings, Amazon’s Earnings
More on IBM and Red Hat, then Microsoft and Amazon’s earnings.
IBM’s Old Playbook
IBM has bought Red Hat in an attempt to recreate its success in the 90s; it’s not clear, though, that the company or the market is the same.
Microsoft Ignite, Weaknesses To Strengths, Amazon’s Device Announcements
Microsoft’s Ignite conference was another reminder that the company no longer focuses on the consumer, a point Satya Nadella emphasized as a strength. Then, Amazon helps explain why.
Amazon Switches?, AWS Versus Azure, Photoshop on iPad
Amazon’s rumored move into Switches is being framed as being about Cisco, but I suspect it’s about Microsoft. Then, Adobe is making Photoshop for iPad, which benefits from subscriptions.
Microsoft and ICE; Tech and Trump, Revisited; Lines and Responsibilities
Microsoft is facing both internal and external pushback for its contract with ICE in the light of the Trump administration decision to separate families at the border; it is time for tech executives to decide where the line is between rhetoric and action.