Software Ecosystem: Understanding an Indispensable Technology and Industry [Hardcover]

David G. Messerschmitt (Author), Clemens Szyperski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2003

Software has gone from obscurity to indispensability in less than fifty years. Although other industries have followed a similar trajectory, software and its supporting industry are different. In this book the authors explain, from a variety of perspectives, how software and the software industry are different--technologically, organizationally, and socially.The growing importance of software requires professionals in all fields to deal with both its technical and social aspects; therefore, users and producers of software need a common vocabulary to discuss software issues. In Software Ecosystem, Messerschmitt and Szyperski address the overlapping and related perspectives of technologists and nontechnologists. After an introductory chapter on technology, the book is organized around six points of view: users, and what they need software to accomplish for them; software engineers and developers, who translate the user's needs into program code; managers, who must orchestrate the resources, material and human, to operate the software; industrialists, who organize companies to produce and distribute software; policy experts and lawyers, who must resolve conflicts inside and outside the industry without discouraging growth and innovation; and economists, who offer insights into how the software market works. Each chapter considers not only the issues most relevant to that perspective but also relates those issues to the other perspectives as well. Nontechnologists will appreciate the context in which technology is discussed; technical professionals will gain more understanding of the social issues that should be considered in order to make software more useful and successful.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Software Ecosystem is an encyclopedic and cutting-edge book. Bridging the technological and business spheres, it will be a terrific resource for anyone working in or studying the software industry."--Richard N. Langlois, Department of Economics, University of Connecticut

"Marketers, programmers, consultants, and lawyers all participate in the software ecosystem. This book will help professionals who fill any of these roles to go beyond the buzzwords to understand the rest of the system they inhabit." Paul Resnick, University of Michigan School of Information

"Marketers, programmers, consultants and lawyers all participate in the software ecosystem. This book will help professionals who fill any of these roles to go beyond the buzzwords to understand the rest of the system they inhabit."--Paul Resnick, University of Michigan School of Information

From the Publisher

Winner in the category of Business, Management & Accounting in the 2003 Professional/Scholarly Publishing Annual Awards Competition presented by the Association of American Publishers, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (August 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262134322
• ISBN-13: 978-0262134323
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,329,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, highly recommended, February 3, 2005

By 

Amrit Tiwana "www.bus.iastate.edu/tiwana" (Decatur, Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Software Ecosystem: Understanding an Indispensable Technology and Industry (Hardcover)

At the *intersection* of software and business, and the business of software. The authors draw on research in economics, IT, and strategy and bring them together to draw excellent insights at their intersection. The book is not really about business or software per se.

Depending on your background, you might want to skip entire sections that are right up your own alley. If you are a manager looking to REALLY understand how the architecture of IT systems (e.g., at the enterprise level) interacts with business strategy, this book will provide a good exposure. If you are a propellerhead or uber-geek wanting to understand more about how your work shapes, hinders, or facilitates business strategy, this book is just right. I keep up with new research developments in the business of software and feel comfortable saying that the insights in this book are not to be found in other books that exist on the market.

The book is very well written, but be forewarned, it is deep. Fully appreciating it requires thought, reflection on what the authors are saying, and a tempered pace. It is not a quick read and not a "how-to" book. My only quibble with this book has nothing to do with its content: Once you get rid of the dust jacket, the quality of its binding and cover printing is absolutely shoddy. Very highly recommended and worth every penny of the forty dollar price.


Three year (June 2008) update on my 2005 review: Nothing yet comes close to the wide array of thought provoking questions that this book raises. I'm wildly speculating here, but the fact that one of the coauthors is an electrical engineer rather than a software developer is perhaps the reason why the nature of this book is so refreshing and original. Sometimes, it takes an outsider without the baggage of insider assumptions to bring a fresh perspective. At the new paperback price, it's better than a red-tagged bargain that you'd find at the aisle end caps of Target!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Reading for Anyone in Information Technology, August 15, 2003

By 

Barton W. Stuck "bartstuck" (Westport, Connecticut USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Software Ecosystem: Understanding an Indispensable Technology and Industry (Hardcover)

Messerschmitt and Szyperski have collaborated on a unique book, that provides a snapshot of the software industry from many different vantage points at a time of rapid change in both technology (components and objected oriented programming) and business models (Internet as a channel). The different vantage points they use suggest a number of trends that the software industry will follow over the next decade that are far different from that in the popular trade press or business press. They highlight why software is different intrinsically from an economics vantage point: the first release of a software product can cost significant time and money, yet further copies take relatively little to no time or money to generate; the more copies of software in use, the more valuable the software can become; experience has shown that as the number of people increases to get software product releases done, it can take more time, not less, to finish the work. This book will be like a fine wine: as it ages, it should get better.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Complexity Simplified, August 2, 2004

By 

Dick Mays (Hoschton, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Software Ecosystem: Understanding an Indispensable Technology and Industry (Hardcover)

The authors write with uncommon clarity about an industry known for its complexity. Even experienced software developers can get lost in the shifting tides of technology change that periodically sweep the software industry. This book provides a way to get above the waves, and see the whole ocean.

(...)

The authors elegantly write about the interdependency of technology infrastructure and applications. Their presentation of the "chicken-and-egg conundrum" was a little depressing. I had hoped my great "CycleFree Software" invention would revolutionize software infrastructure, but after reading this book I have decided to take up writing plays for children!