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There's a third category that you're missing, and it's where the definition gets real blurry. There are companies that effectively use technology to outcompete

by wffurr 5y ago

There's a third category that you're missing, and it's where the definition gets real blurry. There are companies that effectively use technology to outcompete (or "disrupt") incumbent companies in a market. Amazon in retail, Netflix in media, Craigslist for classifieds, Uber for taxis, etc. It seems as if many existing companies, like Cadbury's perhaps, aren't able to effectively re-work their business models with the new possibilities available via tech. Thus they're "non-tech" companies even if they do make some modest use of technology, but ultimately their business model predates tech. "Tech" companies in this space are the ones creating or adopting brand new business models in an existing space enabled by technology. This is the "software eating the world" part of the tech market.

omarhaneef 5y ago
I like this definition, but I think it should be associated with a strategy rather than a company. So Netflix is using a tech strategy, but it won't forever be a tech company. As the particular technology a company deploys becomes widespread, then everyone will deploy it and it will no longer be a tech company. To put it another way: Netflix was not a tech company when it launched and was mailing DVDs, it became a tech company when it started its streaming service, and as other companies also launch streaming services, it won't be a technology company in the future.
nonameiguess 5y ago
We used to have a better word for companies doing things like the Amazon Marketplace: eCommerce. But now that AWS is most of their business, they're "tech" because cloud infrastructure is a computing technology they directly sell.
neogodless 5y ago
I really like the focus on strategy (or tools) rather than trying to label the company itself. Across many industries, especially in the past several decades, companies have used (modern) technology to compete, and the successful ones grew and gained recognition for good application of technology. Google, at the core, doesn't sell technology to consumers. They help people find and share information. (Yes, they sell consumer products that have evolved in the technology age, and we often call a phone or a modern speaker "technology.") Apple is a consumer products company. Microsoft is (by revenue share) an enterprise solutions company. (This includes software, hosting, APIs, etc - all technology.) As sibling comments have pointed out, from the beginning of their existence, automotive companies took the newest technology (initially motorized transport!) and used it to sell personal transport to consumers. Technology is in almost everything sold (except when it clearly isn't... food, most clothing, some services) or it's used behind the scenes. Overall, what value do we get from trying to draw a line between technology company, and "not" a technology company? Netflix by itself doesn't really try to sell you technology, and yet they were instrumental in selling smart TVs and streaming boxes. Do we want to know as prospective employees? Knowing if we are cost centers or profit centers?

by wffurr 5y ago

omarhaneef 5y ago

I like this definition, but I think it should be associated with a strategy rather than a company. So Netflix is using a tech strategy, but it won't forever be a tech company. As the particular technology a company deploys becomes widespread, then everyone will deploy it and it will no longer be a tech company. To put it another way: Netflix was not a tech company when it launched and was mailing DVDs, it became a tech company when it started its streaming service, and as other companies also launch streaming services, it won't be a technology company in the future.

nonameiguess 5y ago

We used to have a better word for companies doing things like the Amazon Marketplace: eCommerce. But now that AWS is most of their business, they're "tech" because cloud infrastructure is a computing technology they directly sell.

neogodless 5y ago

I really like the focus on strategy (or tools) rather than trying to label the company itself. Across many industries, especially in the past several decades, companies have used (modern) technology to compete, and the successful ones grew and gained recognition for good application of technology. Google, at the core, doesn't sell technology to consumers. They help people find and share information. (Yes, they sell consumer products that have evolved in the technology age, and we often call a phone or a modern speaker "technology.") Apple is a consumer products company. Microsoft is (by revenue share) an enterprise solutions company. (This includes software, hosting, APIs, etc - all technology.) As sibling comments have pointed out, from the beginning of their existence, automotive companies took the newest technology (initially motorized transport!) and used it to sell personal transport to consumers. Technology is in almost everything sold (except when it clearly isn't... food, most clothing, some services) or it's used behind the scenes. Overall, what value do we get from trying to draw a line between technology company, and "not" a technology company? Netflix by itself doesn't really try to sell you technology, and yet they were instrumental in selling smart TVs and streaming boxes. Do we want to know as prospective employees? Knowing if we are cost centers or profit centers?