Competing On Internet Time: Lessons From Netscape And Its Battle With Microsoft

by Michael A. Cusumano, David B. Yoffie

Competing on Internet time means competitive advantage can be won and lost overnight. In this penetrating analysis of strategy-making and product innovation in the dynamic markets of commercial cyberspace, bestselling Microsoft Secrets co-author Michael Cusumano and top competitive strategy expert David Yoffie draw vital lessons from Netscape, the first pure Internet company, and show how it employs the techniques of "judo strategy" in its pitched battle with Microsoft, the world's largest software producer.
With a new afterword updating the events of the year following publication of the hardcover edition, Competing on Internet Time is essential and instructive reading for all managers, engineers, and entrepreneurs who want to succeed in ultra-fast-paced markets. Managers in every high-tech industry will discover a wealth of new ideas on how to create and scale up a new company quickly; how to compete in fast-paced, unpredictable industries; and how to design products for rapidly evolving markets.

Genres: Business, Technology, Nonfiction, Computers, Management

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Max Lybbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall this is a good book, and I do recommend it. The book gives a good peak into Netscape's battle with Microsoft, including an in depth discussion of Netscape's different strategies. The book levels fair criticism at several management decisions (mainly decisions that made integration of unrelated software a company priority, and then hobbled those integration efforts).

But the book gets technical details wrong, and technical details are a big part of the story. Additionally the book is peppered with claptrap that shows a misunderstanding of the topic at hand (there is a statement that the Internet is a great metaphor for how Marc Andreessen's mind works; the simplest explanation of why this is nonsense would be to compare it to a claim that the automobile is a great metaphor for how Henry Ford's legs worked).

If you're willing to wade through the claptrap and the incorrect technical details, this book does contain several useful business lessons.

[Lori Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

An optional-read company profile for knowledge workers, managers, directors, C-levels, and entrepreneurs.