Running Out of Numbers: Scarcity of IP Addresses and What To Do About It
| Author: | Benjamin Edelman |
|---|---|
| Published: | March 16, 2009 |
| Paper Release Date: | February 2009, revised March 2009 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Hidden from view of typical users, every Internet communication relies on an underlying system of numbers to identify data sources and destinations. Users typically specify online destinations by entering domain names (e.g. "congress.gov"). But the Internet's routers forward data according to numeric IP addresses (e.g. 140.147.249.9). To date, the Internet has enjoyed an ample supply of "IPv4" IP addresses, but demand is substantial and growing. Current allocation rates suggest IPv4 exhaustion by approximately 2011. A new numbering system, IPv6, would relieve scarcity, but incentives hinder transition: IPv4 works well for existing networks, and offers easier and simpler access to existing Internet content and services. As a result, to date few networks have begun to support v6. In principle regulators could order networks to implement v6, but the applicable Internet coordinating organizations lack authority or power to force such a transition. In the meantime, a market mechanism for v4 addresses offers important benefits, including allocating scarce v4 addresses to those who need them most, and putting a positive price on v4 space in order to encourage transition to v6. Thus, it seems v4 transfers can help both to mitigate the worst effects of v4 scarcity, and to build the incentives necessary for transition to v6.
When the Internet Runs Out of IP Addresses
| Q&A with: | Benjamin G. Edelman |
|---|---|
| Published: | March 16, 2009 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Experts predict that within three years we will see the last of new Web addresses. What will happen then? The best solution is to create a market for already assigned but unwanted numbers, says Harvard Business School professor Ben Edelman.
Platform Competition, Compatibility, and Social Efficiency
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Francisco Ruiz-Aliseda |
|---|---|
| Published: | February 12, 2009 |
| Paper Release Date: | October 2008 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
The last three decades have witnessed unprecedented growth in network industries such as video games, computers, credit cards, media, and telecommunications. These industries are often organized around physical or virtual platforms that enable distinct groups of agents to interact with one another, and are commonly referred to as two-sided markets or markets with two-sided platforms. An operating systems developer such as Microsoft, for example, provides a software platform that makes possible the completion of value-creating transactions between independent software vendors and users. A key attribute of the market that determines the intensity and scope of network effects is whether or not competing platforms are compatible. The effects of platform (in)compatibility on market outcomes, however, have largely been ignored by the literature on markets with two-sided platforms. This paper develops an explanation of why markets with two-sided platforms are often characterized by incompatibility with one dominant player that may choose to subsidize access to one side of the market.
Published in 2007
HBS Cases: One Laptop per Child
| Q&A with: | John A. Quelch |
|---|---|
| Published: | December 10, 2007 |
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
The One Laptop per Child initiative wants to develop and distribute $100 laptops to poor children around the world. Despite eager observers and exciting breakthroughs technologically, it has found the path to customers more rocky than anticipated. Marketing has some answers, as a new case study details. Q&A with HBS professor John Quelch.
Bringing 'Lean' Principles to Service Industries
| Published: | October 22, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Toyota and other top manufacturing companies have embraced, improved, and profited by lean production methods. But the payoffs have not been nearly as dramatic for service industries applying lean principles. HBS professor David Upton and doctoral student Bradley Staats look at the experience of Indian software services provider Wipro for answers.
HBS Cases: The Evolution of Apple
| Published: | July 25, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Apple's continuing development from computer maker to consumer electronics pioneer is rich material in a number of Harvard Business School classrooms. Professor David Yoffie discusses his latest case study of Apple, the 5th update in 14 years, which challenges students to think strategically about Apple's successes and failures in the past, and opportunities and challenges in the future.
The Immigrant Technologist: Studying Technology Transfer with China
| Q&A with: | William R. Kerr and Michael J. Roberts |
|---|---|
| Published: | January 22, 2007 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Immigrants account for almost half of Ph.D.-level scientists and engineers in the U.S., and are prime drivers of technology development. Increasingly, however, Chinese technologists and entrepreneurs are returning home rather than staying in the U.S. to pursue opportunities. Professor William Kerr discusses the phenomena of technology transfer and implications for U.S.-based businesses and policymakers. From New Business.
The Business of Free Software
| Published: | January 15, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Breaking with a largely proprietary tradition, large IT vendors have invested several billion dollars into open-source software development. What's their motivation? The observations presented in research by professor Marco Iansiti and coauthor Gregory L. Richards suggest some fundamental changes in strategy used by technology companies.
Published in 2006
Andy Grove: A Biographer's Tale
| Podcast with: | Richard S. Tedlow |
|---|---|
| Published: | November 9, 2006 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Podcast: For Harvard Business School professor Richard S. Tedlow, Intel co-founder Andy Grove is one of the most important and intriguing CEOs in American business history. In this interview, Tedlow discusses his new biography, Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American with Jim Aisner.
The History and Influence of Andy Grove
| Q&A with: | Richard S. Tedlow |
|---|---|
| Published: | October 30, 2006 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
In a soon-to-be-released biography, Harvard Business School professor Richard S. Tedlow profiles one of the most influential business leaders of our time—Intel's Andy Grove. Tedlow discusses his research on the Silicon Valley legend and how Grove altered much more than the chip industry.
Architectural Innovation and Dynamic Competition: The Smaller "Footprint" Strategy
| Authors: | Carliss Y. Baldwin and Kim B. Clark |
|---|---|
| Published: | September 28, 2006 |
| Paper Release Date: | August 2006 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
To study dynamic competition, Baldwin and Clark build upon a design principle in computer architecture known as Amdahl's Law. The authors show that firms can study the underlying cause-and-effect relationships in a complex architecture in order to identify "bottlenecks." Firms may then redesign the interfaces of key components to make them more modular. They can then outsource more activities without sacrificing performance or cost. As a result, firms can offer competitive products or services, while investing less, and so enjoy an "invested capital advantage" over competitors. Baldwin and Clark explain how the strategy works and then model its impact on competition through successive stages of industry evolution.
Developing a Strategy for Digital Convergence
| Published: | July 17, 2006 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Technology was getting dull earlier this decade, says David Yoffie. But the sudden arrival of digital convergence has turned the tech world upside down. What are the right bets to place?
Lessons from the Browser Wars
| Q&A with: | Pai-Ling Yin |
|---|---|
| Published: | April 10, 2006 |
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
The first-mover advantage is well chronicled, but it didn't help Netscape when Microsoft launched Internet Explorer. What drives technology adoption, and do browser upstarts such as Firefox stand a chance? A Q&A with professor Pai-Ling Yin.
Economic and Technical Drivers of Technology Choice: Browsers
| Authors: | Timothy F. Bresnahan and Pai-Ling Yin |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 5, 2006 |
| Paper Release Date: | February 2006 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Did Microsoft defeat Netscape in the browser war because its technology was better, or because MS created a better business strategy? The authors draw on the 1996-1999 browser battles to examine technical progress versus economic forces in driving diffusion on new technologies.
Published in 2005
Why IT Matters in Midsized Firms
| Authors: | Marco Iansiti, George Favaloro, James Utzschneider, and Greg Richards |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 5, 2006 |
| Paper Release Date: | August 2005 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
What does IT actually contribute to a business? Is IT a commodity like electricity or is it a crucial element of competitive advantage? In a study of over 600 medium-sized global firms to analyze the business benefits that IT can enable, the authors found that IT capability was key to profitable business growth. This was true in both the U.S. product and services sectors as well as in Germany and Brazil.
Wintel: Cooperation or Conflict
| Authors: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and David B. Yoffie |
|---|---|
| Published: | July 5, 2006 |
| Paper Release Date: | July 2005 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Industries are becoming more horizontal. Products that used to be designed and manufactured by a single firm are now produced by different companies that must coordinate activities. Here, the authors detail the relationship between Intel and Microsoft (both integral to PCs) and, using a mixed-duopoly model, analyze the dynamics of cooperation verses competition. They find that costs associated with complementary R&D, conflicts of interest in pricing, and the possibility of competitors all factor in the decision of when to cooperate or compete.
Published in 2001
Alfred Chandler on the Electronic Century
| Published: | November 19, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Alfred D. Chandler Jr. examines the development of two pivotal industries in post-World War II America—the consumer electronics and computer industries.
Published in 2000
More Than the Sum of Its Parts: The Impact of Modularity on the Computer Industry
| Published: | September 25, 2000 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Research & Ideas |
The "power of modularity," write HBS Dean Kim Clark and Professor Carliss Baldwin in their new book, rescued the computer industry from a problem of nightmarish proportions and made possible remarkable levels of innovation and growth in a relatively short period of time.
