Digital Winners and Losers

September 13, 2015

Read The Full Prompt

The basic thesis of our course is that digital technologies are upending many industries and companies. Think about Uber’s impact on the taxi business or Spotify’s impact on music downloads and the record industry.

For this module, we would like you to identify companies/organizations that you think are winning or losing. Just work on either winners or losers. Please focus on just one organization. Tell us why they are a winner or loser. Discuss elements of how they create and/or capture value that is leading you to call them a winner or loser.

Create an approximately 500-750 word post to make your contribution. Please create appropriate tags for your post including if it is a “winner” or “loser” Please also respond to and comment on three other posts per module. Feel free to use graphics, data, videos and links to other sites to corroborate your points.

Selected posts will be discussed in class and also featured on the HBS Digital Initiative website.

Submitted (145)

MINDBODY – providing technology tools to a non-tech industry
Pinky and the Brain
Last modified on September 11, 2015 at 2:45 pm
MINDBODY is revolutionizing the health and wellness industry with its cloud-based business software, all designed to help yoga / fitness studios, spas and other wellness centers manage their businesses smartly and efficiently.
A lost battle for digital- Why Cengage and other textbook publishers are doomed
Oded
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 10:03 pm
Cengage and other textbook publisher are moving to full digital content and signing their own death warrant
Minerva – not your ordinary university
Jenny Chiu
Last modified on September 12, 2015 at 10:44 pm
Virtual classroom. Active learning. World class professors. Half of the bill. Welcome to the future of higher education.
Eseye: A Game Changer in the Digital World
Damla
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 11:53 pm
Eseye, an M2M technology and service provider, is changing the game in the digital world
Go Craig Go – Craigslist is a winner
Christine
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 2:07 pm
Craigslist became a winner and created a loser at the same time
Adios, Therese – the death of the retail travel agent
LC
Last modified on October 19, 2015 at 6:03 pm
Brick-and mortar travel agents are dead. How did the decline happen in one of the first industries to be digitalized?
Tinder Is Crushing It (imho)
ecashman
Last modified on September 14, 2015 at 9:43 pm
regarding the love-making with the Tinder.
Telemedicine: Who will come out on top?
KMY
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 2:19 pm
Actually, before we can address “Who will win the Telemedicine arms race?” we must establish whether it is a race worth winning in the first place.   A true adoption of telemedicine practices requires a complete change in patient behavior, [...]
Epic Systems – Too Big to Crush?
s
Last modified on October 19, 2015 at 6:03 pm
Epic Systems, a leader in health care information technology, has set established itself as a giant in the HCIT industry. Their strategic choices have almost guaranteed that their dominance will be preserved for the next several years, leaving smaller players [...]
TED leads in a winner-take-all world of conferences
Jason Preston
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 9:17 am
How TED became a household name, transformed itself into a media company, and upended the conference business by giving away its product for free.
Weight Watchers: The Real Biggest Loser?
RFD123
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 9:49 pm
Weight Watchers is the biggest loser in the ever-increasing digitization of the weight-loss and personal fitness industries.
Red Bull: Soaring into Pop Culture
ahc
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 11:44 pm
How Red Bull's combination of a singular product focus and an expansive media strategy has allowed it to maintain its leadership position in the category it created.
OnePlus One, Redefining the Math of Smartphones
Noam
Last modified on September 12, 2015 at 8:11 pm
OnePlus is changing the game in the smartphone market with a "flagship killer" priced at half of its competitors' products. The question is whether OnePlus will be able to capture enough value to ensure its long-term viability.
Digital Innovation in Online & Mobile Banking at J.P. Morgan Chase
Mike Maley
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 3:58 pm
The evolution of online and mobile banking has transformed an industry - and Chase has been at the forefront for some time. But with the rise of companies like Venmo, what's next?
New Tech vs Old Industrials: who will win the “Industrial Internet” race?
H Li
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 11:28 pm
Analyzing how New Techs and Old Industrials create and capture value in the Industrial Internet
Polaroid: Instant Photography King No More
DB
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 12:25 pm
Polaroid went from being one of the most successful companies in the photography industry to filing for bankruptcy in 2011. How could things go so wrong for such a successful company that was able to ward off competition in the [...]
Resmed Sleeps and Breathes Innovation
Chippydip
Last modified on September 11, 2015 at 11:33 pm
The sleep apnea treatment industry gets a breath of fresh air from Resmed, with their constant innovations and data-driven advances. I wouldn't hold my breath for Phillips or other competitors to catch up anytime soon. Rest assured- Resmed is #winning.
Box Is Winning the Digital Enterprise Match
QC
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 2:26 pm
Box: winner in the digital enterprise space.
Vox Media: Journalism is commoditized, technology is not
DD1
Posted on September 14, 2015 at 12:58 am
Investment capital has been pouring into Vox Media over the last couple of years, with the company recently raising $200 million from NBC Universal (owned by Comcast) at a post money valuation of approximately $1B. This is orders of magnitude higher than prices paid even for the [...]
Envoy: disrupting the visitor registration sysem
AK
Posted on September 13, 2015 at 11:35 pm
A San Francisco based start-up, Envoy, is transforming how visitors are received and welcomed at an office's reception desk.
Saida – automating loan approval process for emerging markets
JI
Last modified on September 13, 2015 at 12:37 pm
Saida is leveraging users prepaid cellphones data to make instant short term loan approvals for citizens in the African continent.
Fast Fashion FTW(For the Win): How Zara and Fast-Fashion Retailers are Rapidly Changing the Game with Technology…and Making the Rules
MR
Last modified on October 19, 2015 at 6:03 pm
Zara and fast fashion retail giants leverage technology and real-time data to serve up a winning formula
Minerva Schools – Reimaging Higher Education
CX
Last modified on September 11, 2015 at 1:59 pm
Imagine a college experience where you would have the opportunity to live in seven different countries in their campuses across the world, learn with interactive seminars designed to keep you actively learning, and only pay a third of the cost [...]
MetroMile – Why pay for something you don’t use?
LMT
Last modified on September 15, 2015 at 2:18 am
Today, Personal lines insurance is being disrupted by new, telematic-enabled products whereby customers are willing to give over their data in search for fairer-priced products.[i] MetroMile, first launched in Oregon in 2012, is seeking to capture a share of the [...]
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