Annabelle Gawer | Michael A. Cusumano
Certain products, like the VCR and the microprocessor, are far more valuable as the center of a network of ancillary items than they ever could become on their own.
Platform Leadership, by Annabelle Gawer and Michael A. Cusumano, examines how a handful of firms has maximized this position--or are attempting to do so--and proposes a framework that other businesses can use to establish similar game plans. Combining original research with analysis that draws upon their experiences as professors specializing in high-tech strategy, Gawer and Cusumano focus on Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Palm, NTT DoCoMo, and supporters of the Linux operating system to show how to establish and expand this vital hub positioning. Their four-pronged approach concentrates on scope (what firms produce on their own and encourage others to produce), technology (how much detail about product architecture and design they should disclose to outsiders), alliances (how collaborative or competitive their relationships with those outsiders should be), and organization (what structures best balance subsequent external and internal conflicts). The examples selected illustrate varying methods for walking the fine line required to achieve "platform leadership" and will provide food for thought along with practical guidance for others interested in attaining similar status.
--Howard Rothman
1 It's good to have powerful friends!
This book is an extension of the excellent Sloan (MIT) article Ms. Gawer co-wrote a couple of years back. The book does an excellent job of articulating the concepts of modularity in design, and the management of technology ecosystems.
It is easier to gain a market if your interests are aligned around a platform that is well organized. At the same time, the large platform leaders she cites (Intel, Microsoft, Cisco) are hardly benevolent organizations....so it seems that a small degree of skepticism should accompany accepting anything that the 'platform leader' offers. This look at what leadership means is very enlightening, and made me wonder how open source solutions can succeed without a change in tactics.
2 Great book - worth your time if you are ISV or in High Tech
This insightful book looks at how companies build a businesses on "network effects". The key case studies are MS, Intel and Cisco. If I had to summarize this book in 1 sentence: build a platform and a business model where multiple companies can add value and be profitable (constellation of ISVs, VARs and Service Providers). Book also covers NTT 3G, Palm, Linux.
Case studies are analyzed on how they used the "4 levers of Platform Leadership": 1) Scope of Firm, 2) Product Technology/Architecture, 3) Relationships with external complementors, and 4) Internal Organization.
Very well written.
3 Excellent read
I bought this book as part of my MBA thesis. This is an excellent read and full of useful insights. Mssrs Gawer and Cusumano are clearly gurus in this subject.
4 Brilliant strategy for circumventing anti-trust law
"a highly effective way of skirting antitrust law" - Professor Ross Anderson. This brilliant book shows how to lock in your customers and lock-out your competitors without falling foul of anti-trust law. Read, learn, inwardly digest ... then go out and make a killing. No serious marketing executive can ignore this book.
5 important for open-source enthusiasts as well
Having spent five years trying to establish an open-source software platform standard, in retrospect it would have been awfully nice to have had this book. If you're going to compete with the big commercial firms you have to be comparable to or better than they are in as many areas as possible.
6 Tour de force!
An extraordinary analysis of the strategies of these companies. Prof. Gawer's insight is remarkable. A must read for anyone in today's world of high tech business.
