Comment The Vertical Web (Score 1) 87
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Saturated industries often consolidate for vertical integration. Large companies buy smaller competitors, and they also purchase their vertical supply chain to reduce costs and manage dependencies. A classic example is the American car industry, which went from 1500 companies to today's Big Three (and the occasional glitch like Tesla).
If the IT industry is post-inflective, then vertical integration might be happening. This spreadsheet defines the "Vertical Web" as power production, data centers, etc, up to consumer devices and software.
If a mature industry can support three or four major players, ther are some interesting predictions:
Twitter is a natural acquisition target for a couple of the stronger players.
Twitter will not be one of the Big Three (or Four).
Yahoo is a weak player, despite its industry longevity.
Facebook or Amazon will probably emerge as the fourth player, and the loser will be absorbed or parted out. One of the top three may stumble but it seems unlikely at this point. Facebook is the newest and least experienced company.
The Big Three (or Four) will eventually do significant layoffs. If you're a current employee and relatively young, you should think about when this might occur.