![]() ![]() Most companies have that insight into closed operating systems once, they hit the ceiling, and then they crash. So their options are hopefully they can come up with another product category or something that is proprietary because they really are good at developing products that are proprietary. And so ultimately, unless there is no ceiling, at some point Apple hits the ceiling. You can predict that they are motivated to figure out how to emulate what they are offering, but with modularity. You can predict with perfect certainty that if Apple is having that extraordinary experience, the people with modularity are striving. From an interview with Henry Blodget a month ago: I believe this was the root of Christensen’s blind spot about Apple, which persists. Users care about the user experience (surprise), but an isolated buyer - as is the case for most business-to-business products, and all of Christensen’s examples - does not. That is why - and this was the crux of my criticism of Christensen’s development of the theory - the user experience angle only matters when the buyer of a product is also the user. The key, though, is that this integration and experience be valued by the user. Moreover, integrated solutions will just about always be superior when it comes to the user experience: if you make the whole thing, you can ensure everything works well together, avoiding the inevitable rough spots and lack of optimization that comes with standards and interconnects. I explained why Apple’s approach was sustainable in 2014’s Best: Apple’s MoatĪpple, though, faced questions about the sustainability of its business for years, even after the runaway success of the iPhone one of the topics that helped Stratechery gain traction in its first year was arguing that the iPhone was actually not about to be disrupted as so many - including Professor Clayton Christensen himself - were sure was going to happen. Building a competitor for either feels daunting at best, impossible at worst. ![]() Google has a huge advantage in data and infrastructure, augmented by its control of consumer touch points (by owning Android outright, and paying heavily for default placement on other platforms) Amazon has a huge advantage in infrastructure and data, augmented by its control of the number one consumer touch point for shopping (the Amazon search box). When it comes to the big four consumer tech companies - Microsoft’s decision to close its retail stores was the culmination of a step-back from the consumer space five years in the making - Google and Amazon have always had moats that were easier to understand.
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