Akamai technologies : an analysis of product and platform growth strategies
Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2013.
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | eng |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90700 |
| _version_ | 1826197528118296576 |
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| author | Piper, Victor L. (Victor Lawrence) |
| author2 | Michael Cusumano. |
| author_facet | Michael Cusumano. Piper, Victor L. (Victor Lawrence) |
| author_sort | Piper, Victor L. (Victor Lawrence) |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2013. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:49:02Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/90700 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T10:49:02Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/907002019-04-10T12:38:09Z Akamai technologies : an analysis of product and platform growth strategies Piper, Victor L. (Victor Lawrence) Michael Cusumano. System Design and Management Program. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division. System Design and Management Program. Engineering Systems Division. System Design and Management Program. Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2013. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 105-108). Akamai Technologies has achieved market leadership in content delivery and application acceleration services and is pursuing aggressive growth. Akamai has advised the market that growth to $5B by 2020 is achievable by exploiting opportunity within its key markets. However, the internal consensus is that Akamai's legacy business practices are incapable of scaling at the rate of market growth. What must Akamai do to execute on its revenue goals and, more broadly, how can Akamai maintain a leadership position within a dynamic and rapidly expanding market? The goal of this thesis is to discover the elements of Akamai's legacy and emerging growth strategies and to identify strategic options that Akamai may pursue. To gain perspective into evolution of the business and the rationale for current strategic initiatives, a series of interviews with Akamai managers was conducted and a review of an Akamai case study and corporate quarterly earnings was completed. This information yielded insights on the challenges of growth, actions for overcoming these challenges, and motivations for selecting those actions. To gain insight into best practices in growth strategy, a survey of the business strategy literature and case studies of successful technology platform companies was conducted. The literature differentiated between product-based business strategies and platform-based business strategies. Analysis of the differences between these strategies provided insights into Akamai's current challenges. by Victor L. Piper. S.M. in Engineering and Management 2014-10-08T15:23:38Z 2014-10-08T15:23:38Z 2013 2013 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90700 890946576 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 108 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Engineering Systems Division. System Design and Management Program. Piper, Victor L. (Victor Lawrence) Akamai technologies : an analysis of product and platform growth strategies |
| title | Akamai technologies : an analysis of product and platform growth strategies |
| title_full | Akamai technologies : an analysis of product and platform growth strategies |
| title_fullStr | Akamai technologies : an analysis of product and platform growth strategies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Akamai technologies : an analysis of product and platform growth strategies |
| title_short | Akamai technologies : an analysis of product and platform growth strategies |
| title_sort | akamai technologies an analysis of product and platform growth strategies |
| topic | Engineering Systems Division. System Design and Management Program. |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90700 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pipervictorlvictorlawrence akamaitechnologiesananalysisofproductandplatformgrowthstrategies |