WHAT EVERY CEO NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT THE VAPORIZED ECONOMY

Tercek shows how organizations that once produced solid, tangible products have consistently been “vaporized,” turned into digital bits. Familiar examples include physical books, newspapers, and music. The “widespread take‐up of smartphone apps means that consumers can now use a downloadable app to replace physical things like cameras, GPS units, DVD players, game consoles, even keys and credit cards.” Managers must give much more thought to software and proprietary data assets, and companies should consider the roles they play, and their leadership within, mobile ecosystems, marketplaces, and platforms. As Tercek writes, the “switch from physical to vaporized versions of products requires every business to recast itself as a software company.”