As the power behind every kind of digital device, software platforms truly are the invisible engines of the information age. In their absorbing and comprehensive account of the evolution and economics of platform technologies, Evans, Hagiu, and Schmalensee essentially map out the still-evolving history of the third industrial revolution. -- Craig Mundie, Chief Technical Officer, Microsoft Google, eBay, mobile phones, and the Xbox have a lot more in common that you might suspect. Invisible Engines builds on recent thinking about two-sided platforms, including the authors' substantial contributions to it. Evans, Hagiu and Schmalensee beautifully blend economics, history, and business analysis to shed light on how businesses and policy makers should design their strategies. This exciting book will be a key resource for practitioners and academics interested in knowing how software platforms work and where information technologies are heading. -- Jean Tirole, Institut d'Economie Industrielle, University of Toulouse Invisible Engines describes the economics of operating systems, those fiendishly complex pieces of software that provide the nervous system for computers, cell phones, game consoles, and a host of other devices. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the economic forces that drive high-tech industries. -- Hal Varian, Haas School of Business and Department of Economics, University of California, Berkeley Invisible Engines is a highly sophisticated yet readable exploration of how companies do, can, and should deliver great value through software platforms. By combining economics and management, the authors deliver deep insights into the multifaceted world of software. -- David B. Yoffie, Max and Doris Starr Professor of International Business Administration, Harvard Business School Most high-tech markets today revolve around software and are 'two-sided'they require end-users as well as producers of complementary products such as software applications or digital content to support one platform over another. Invisible Engines is by far the broadest study of this subject to date. The authors probe expertly into the economics and technology underlying these markets as well as what business models and pricing strategies seem most likely to work. A very impressive book. -- Michael A. Cusumano, author of The Business of Software and coauthor of Platform Leadership
David S. Evans is Managing Director of the Global Competition Policy Practice at LECG LLC and part of Market Platform Dynamics, a management consulting firm that focuses on strategic analysis and product design for platform-based firms. Richard L. Schmalensee is John C. Head III Dean and Professor of Management and Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is co-editor of Management: Inventing and Delivering Its Future (MIT Press, 2003).
The prose is accessible, even engaging. And the shrewd
analysisbacked up by a great deal of research and a precise
narrative of recent business historymore than makes up for the lack
of office politics and entrepreneur heroics. Any executive looking
to turn his company's product into an engine of growth will want to
consult Invisible Engines.
*Wall Street Journal*
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