Content area
Full text
Competing on Internet Time: Lessons From Netscape and its Battle With Microsoft
By Michael A. Cusumano and David B. Yoffie
1998, The Free Press, New York Hardcover; 288 pages; $26
An excerpt from the book Microsoft wants to get it hands on
Michael A. Cusumano and David B. Yoffie find themselves at the center of a maelstrom. Microsoft Corp. lawyers believe tapes and documents from the authors' recently published book, Competing on Internet Time: Lessons From Netscape and its Battle With Microsoft, could "eviscerate" the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust suit against the software company.
Microsoft went to court to gain access to those documents. It lost.
Recently, the company appealed the decision. In interviews, Microsoft's appellate brief claims, "Netscape personnel candidly concede that many of Netscape's problems are of its own creation, and not the result of any allegedly anticompetitive actions taken by Microsoft." Whatever the outcome of the appeal, the time seems right to publish an excerpt from Competing on Internet Time.
By 1998, the browser wars had taken a serious toll on Netscape Communications Corp. Some of the damage, of course, was inevitable. Microsoft is one of the toughest competitors in the world, with one of the strongest competitive positions in the history of information technology.
But both Netscape and Microsoft have made mistakes. The Internet is a new medium, and companies have to experiment.
When Microsoft makes mistakes, however, it has certain luxuries not available to most companies.
As Steve Ballmer told us, "When we make mistakes, you won't see it in our revenue for three or four years!" For most companies competing on Internet time, mistakes become evident in days or weeks.
The principals in this book suggest effective ways to compete in fast-changing markets. It is also important to suggest a few lessons from the Netscape and Microsoft experiences about what companies should not do when trying to compete on Internet time.
DON'T DEPEND ON THE REVOLUTION COMING TOMORROW
For years, the name "Netscape" was virtually...