Unleashing the Killer App, Digital Strategies for Market Dominance

- Larry Downes and Chunka Mui

Given my somewhat weak technology background, I found Unleashing the Killer App to be a surprisingly interesting book. The authors continually referred to Moore’s Law, Metcalf’s Law, and Coase’s theories of economics involving transaction costs as the key drivers and enablers for the development of the killer app. These killer apps, in turn, are disrupting forces in society’s status quo, changing the nature of once traditional relationships among firms and individuals.

What struck me specifically in the book was the focus and emphasis on the need for the killer app not just in the high tech corporation, but equally so in the “old economy” company. Several examples used in the book were from companies such as British Petroleum, McDonald’s, Playboy Enterprises, Bowne & Company, and Federal Express. The book’s use of firms that were not previously technology-driven was different than what I would have initially expected. Having worked previously in an “old economy” financial services firm, with the expectation to work within a similar firm post-Darden, I read the book more from the perspective of what the technological revolution and development of killer apps will mean for the long-term prosperity of the company I eventually choose to work for. Many financial services firms currently maintain the attitude that their services are a necessity for their clients; however, after reading Unleashing the Killer App, I realize that killer apps will continue to be developed, which will change the traditional intermediary role of financial services firms. The killer apps are reducing the need for an intermediary (outlined in the section entitled “Death of the Middleman”), and thus the transaction costs associated with financial services.

Furthermore, with the continual arrival of killer apps, new forces have come to play which are making it increasingly difficult for firms to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage. I found it refreshing that the authors essentially “outdated” Porter’s Five Forces by adding three additional forces: digitization, deregulation, and globalization, which have been changing the competitive landscape for companies. These new forces are affecting all industries in different ways and to different degrees, and firms must consider their effect in determining strategy.

Finally, one of the critical points that struck me from the book was the need for firms to constantly review and update “strategy” and technological systems. Companies can avoid potential obsolescence by continually developing digital strategies using technologies that, while not yet fully available today, will be in the future when the strategy is fully implemented. In order to successfully launch an optimal digital strategy, a company needs to involve individuals throughout the organization (those in front-line contact with customers, suppliers, and other day-to-day relationships of the organization) with critical digital strategy decisions and policies. Additionally, an ongoing dialogue needs to be maintained to understand what decisions were successful as well as to implement training programs to teach all members of the organization how the technology can and should be used.

Overall, I would highly recommend Unleashing the Killer App, believing it would be a fascinating read for individuals at any level of an organization within any industry.

- Report by Margaret Lauck