How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition

Michael E. Porter; James E. Heppelmann

Article | Harvard Business Review

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition

by Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann

Abstract

Information technology is revolutionizing products. Once composed solely of mechanical and electrical parts, products have become complex systems that combine hardware, sensors, data storage, microprocessors, software, and connectivity in myriad ways. These "smart, connected products"—made possible by vast improvements in processing power and device miniaturization and by the network benefits of ubiquitous wireless connectivity—have unleashed a new era of competition.

Keywords: strategy; information technology; Competition; Information Technology; Transformation; Information Technology Industry;

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Porter, Michael E., and James E. Heppelmann. "How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition." Harvard Business Review 92, no. 11 (November 2014): 64–88.

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How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition

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