Profit From Platforms

A hyper-hectic visit to New York, coupled with news breaking thick and fast, I almost forgot to blog about my recent book review of Invisible Engines by David S. Evans, Andrei Hagiu and Richard Schmalensee for the Wall Street Journal. The book looks at rise of software platforms including the Windows, iPod, and Sony PlayStation, and how they spawn an entire ecosystem.

One moral of the authors’ story returns us, in effect, to Mr. Ballmer’s own platform dance: Get the developers. The smart ones–helped by luck and investment capital, among much else–can make invisible engines rocket a company into the stratosphere. “Invisible Engines” offers iPod as an example.

While the book is quite academic in nature, it might be worth taking a look. If not, just read the review. ;-)

Written by Om Malik on December 1st, 2006 with no comments.
Read more articles on Articles and Software 2.0.

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