Knowledge@Wharton -- Managing Technology

Fit for the Holidays: Amazon Is Shaping Up and Shipping Out

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:18:47 EST

Amazon.com enters the holiday shopping season with enviable strength. The financials at the world's biggest online retailer are looking better than ever while it is finding new ways to muscle in on the competitive advantages traditionally enjoyed by conventional bricks-and-mortar retailers -- including its recent launch of same-day shipping in seven major U.S. cities. But as Amazon grows, competitors are still giving it a run for its money, according to e-commerce and marketing experts at Wharton.

Netflix: One Eye on the Present and Another on the Future

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:19:29 EST

In a year when DVD sales are falling and studios are facing major shakeups in their executive ranks, the movie industry has at least one success story to cheer about: Netflix. Despite the recession, the Los Gatos, Calif.-based company continues to thrive and is now in a race to transition to a business model focused on streaming content online while continuing to exploit its current model based on physical DVD distribution. According to Wharton faculty, Netflix has managed this balancing act deftly so far, but growing competition in digital distribution means that it may not have an advantage for long.

Early Tremors: Is It Time for Another Social Network Shakeout?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:33:51 EST

Faint rumblings have begun in the social networking landscape. Facebook acquired smaller rival FriendFeed in August; Friendster, viewed as an also-ran in the U.S., has refocused its operations on the Asia-Pacific region; and News Corp., owner of MySpace, has reshuffled executives and restructured the unit as traffic to the site slows. Experts at Wharton say there's still a lot of growth left in the sector, but a round of consolidation, reinvention and restructuring is likely in the not-too-distant future.

Pushing Zune: Is Microsoft Fighting an Uphill Battle?

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:48:04 EST

In what was billed as "a significant step forward," Microsoft on September 15 launched its next-generation Zune HD media player, touting the device's ability to play high-definition (HD) video and receive HD Radio signals, along with a state-of-the-art, organic light-emitting diode screen. Experts at Wharton say that despite its advanced technology, it isn't yet clear whether these features will matter to consumers. Zune HD already faces the nearly impossible task of competing against Apple and its iPod, which had 73% of the market as of July. Should Microsoft continue to fight this battle?

Skype's Life after eBay: Free in More Ways Than One

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:45:37 EST

The last four years at Skype have been anything but dull. In 2005, eBay bought the popular Internet-based phone service in a deal that raised plenty of eyebrows. But with eBay's $2.75 billion sale of Skype on September 1, one whirlwind era closes and another one begins. The key for Skype now is to find new ways in the emerging "communication ecosystem" -- as one Wharton expert calls it -- to monetize a service that most of its customers are used to getting for free.

Google Everywhere: As the Search Giant Grows, How Much Is Too Much?

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:37:02 EST

As it expands into new markets with additional products and platforms, Google is beginning to look a bit like Microsoft in the mid-1990s: A company with big ambitions and an ever-growing list of competitors. Its latest skirmish with Apple over an integrated telephony and voicemail management application for the iPhone is just one example of what is likely to come, according to Wharton faculty and other experts. In addition, they say, as Google tries to be virtually everywhere that consumers are, it needs to avoid making the same mistakes that Microsoft made, and it should pay close attention to privacy issues.

Information Security: Why Cybercriminals Are Smiling

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:11:11 EST

With Internet usage forecast to grow 45% globally over the next four years, the web has become a paradise for cybercriminals. Many people don't yet fully understand the enormity of the threat -- to individuals, their families and the companies that they work for, warns Andrea M. Matwyshyn, professor of legal studies and business ethics at Wharton and editor of a forthcoming book titled, Harboring Data: Information Security, Law and the Corporation. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, Matwyshyn and two of the book's contributors discuss the major risk management gaps that are leaving valuable data assets unprotected.

Technological Evolution Stirs a Publishing Revolution

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:41:52 EST

According to Wharton faculty who follow the complicated, emotionally fraught subject of how we buy and sell literature, devices such as Amazon's Kindle and an on-demand book-printing machine called Espresso are helping to upend longstanding customs in the slow-to-change business of book publishing.

Cable TV Follows Its Subscribers to the Internet

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:41:58 EST

The cable television industry's answer to the increasing threat from Internet video sites such as YouTube and Hulu focuses on a clear-cut strategy: Make cable subscriptions portable to any Internet accessible device, such as a laptop computer or even a mobile phone, for no additional charge. Experts at Wharton say the move is a promising early step in meeting the Internet video challenge, but they expect more such experimentation ahead.

Leaving 'Friendprints': How Online Social Networks Are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:08:51 EST

A generation is growing up with social networking web sites such as Facebook and MySpace, casually posting accounts of their lives for their friends -- and the world -- to see. Few of these users realize that the information they post, when combined with new technologies for gathering and compiling data, can create a fingerprint-like pattern of behavior. The information provides opportunities not only for legitimate businesses, but also for identity thieves and other predators, according to faculty at Wharton and elsewhere.

As Smartphones Proliferate, Will One Company Emerge as the Clear Market Winner?

Wed, 27 May 2009 17:04:13 EST

Just as computer operating systems vied for dominance back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, smartphone makers these days are jostling for market share, hoping that their mix of capabilities -- ranging from web surfing to email to calendar management -- will ensure them a critical mass of customers. What the makers of such mobile devices as the BlackBerry, iPhone and Treo are trying to avoid is the outcome of that earlier race, when one company -- Microsoft -- ended up the dominant player.

Social Media for Social Causes: Alex Brown's Passion for the Welfare of Horses

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:19:24 EST

Alex Brown's love of horses started long before he launched the blog, Alex Brown Racing, but it was Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro that pushed the blog into prominence -- and eventually established it as a site dedicated to the welfare of horses. Along the way, Brown learned many things about creating and nurturing an online community by using tools like wikis, Facebook and Twitter, and following certain principles, such as: Be authentic, be transparent, be consistent and build trust. Brown, one of whose goals is to rescue horses destined for the slaughter house, talked with Knowledge@Wharton about his strategies for bringing attention -- and money -- to the cause.

All That Twitters Isn't Gold: A Popular Web Application in Search of a Business Plan

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:21:37 EST

The world may be buzzing about Twitter, but will the San Francisco-based messaging service with the high cool factor ever be a money maker? Or will it operate at a perpetual loss, as one Wall Street analyst suggested, "until the next cool Web 2.0 social networking concept comes along and Twitter tweets no more."

No Man Is an Island: The Promise of Cloud Computing

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:13:39 EST

"Cloud computing" promises myriad benefits -- including cost savings on technology infrastructure and faster software upgrades -- for users ranging from small startups to large corporations. That's an auspicious future considering that not everyone agrees on exactly what cloud computing is, or what it can do.

Joss Whedon's Plan to Monetize Internet Content (Watch Out, Hollywood)

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:07:39 EST

TV and movie writer-director Joss Whedon wants to change the way Hollywood does business. While Whedon works inside the studio system on major projects, he also hopes to blaze a trail on the Internet for creating and monetizing independently produced content. In doing so, he is confronting what he terms the "homogenized, globalized, monopolized entertainment system."

Mundivox's Alberto Duran: 'My Biggest Problem Is Creating Middle Management'

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:39:49 EST

Alberto Duran, founder and CEO of Mundivox Communications of Brazil, has seen the world of telecommunications from various perspectives. He worked in the telecom sector for J.P. Morgan in New York, and Bain & Company and Monitor Company in Boston and London. He specialized in the development of strategies for major industry players worldwide, including privatizations and M&A in North America, Europe and Asia. In 1999, Duran founded Mundivox Communications in Brazil. In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, he talks about the troubled environment in the wake of the slowdown and the key issues in managing a company that is growing at an astonishing 100% a year.

The Net Impact of Netbooks? It Depends on Who Uses Them for What

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:18:24 EST

Small, inexpensive netbooks -- portable computers smaller than notebooks but dependent on the Internet for file-storage and software -- are likely to have a disruptive impact on the PC industry, but there are many questions to resolve, experts say. Will netbooks poach sales of laptops? Are they replacements for smartphones? How will a weak economy affect sales? Will the devices increase the popularity of cloud computing? Stay tuned as this new technology continues to evolve.

3D Movies: Adding Depth or Falling Flat?

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:54:21 EST

Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg called the latest 3D movie technology "the greatest innovation to occur in the movie business in 70 years." A bevy of theater chains are exploring or installing digital cinema and 3D systems in the second half of 2008 into 2009. Intel and others are creating tools for companies to make a new generation of 3D animation films. Experts at Wharton say 3D movies are back in vogue, but it's unclear whether the latest greatest technology can give theaters a sustainable competitive advantage over other forms of entertainment.

Will Its 'Chrome' Web Browser Put a Shine on Google's Long-term Strategy?

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:08:01 EST

Casual observers may have concluded that Google's introduction this week of its 'Chrome' web browser was a direct assault on the dominance of Microsoft's Explorer. But Wharton professors David Hsu and Kevin Werbach see a longer-term strategy at work.

Costs, Regulation and a Touch of Corporate Responsibility Put More Green into IT

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:03:03 EST

One research firm estimates that at least 2% of global atmospheric carbon emissions can be traced to the information technology industry because of the electricity consumed by PCs, servers, cooling systems, telecommunications gear and printers. Now, under pressure from tightening global anti-pollution standards, the threat of environmental lawsuits and more awareness of corporate responsibility, many technology firms are racing to place a "green" stamp of environmental approval on their operations and products.