{"id":529,"date":"2018-12-27T14:53:57","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T14:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/?post_type=insight&p=529"},"modified":"2026-04-09T01:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T01:33:14","slug":"avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/","title":{"rendered":"019: Avoiding Asymmetric Competitors in Technology Investing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent conversation with a leading technology-focused sponsor, I was asked an interesting question:\u00a0if [insert hyperscale technology company name] is getting into everything, then how do I know what\u2019s safe?<\/em><\/p>\n\n

In this case, we were talking about Amazon, but the same could have applied to Microsoft, Google, Apple, Salesforce, Adobe, and more.<\/p><\/div>\n\n

\n\n

First, I will admit that answering this question requires predicting the future, and I am aware of the dangers of even writing this piece. If you had asked whether I thought Amazon was likely to \u201center\u201d the healthcare management market, or whether they would buy their way into the pharmacy space, I would have said no. (Note that these two moves are not obviously connected today, though they could be in the future, which has to be a bit terrifying for multiple companies.) Anyway, with that caveat made, I\u2019ll give my best answer on predicting the level of threat a technology company faces.<\/p>\n\n

If you want to know whether you are on safe ground investing in a technology company, there are a few activities that can help determine the risk level:<\/p>\n\n

    \n
  1. Assess the solution space: what\u2019s the problem being solved, for which functions and which verticals?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Assess the target company\u2019s unique selling proposition from the customer\u2019s view: what is driving customer interest in this company today? Why do customers choose this company vs. peers?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Assess the solution space and \u201chyperscale\u201d competitors: is the target\u2019s product in the productivity space (Microsoft, Google, Amazon)? Is this in the sales and marketing space (Salesforce, Microsoft, Adobe)?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Assess the business models that hyperscale competitors are taking in the space, by asking a few questions:
      \n
    • Why does the hyperscale player care about this space?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • What is their business model?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Where do they plan on monetizing?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Does the company really care about our market niche or is it part of a broader platform style approach?<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

      Some might ask, why care so much about the hyperscale competitors? The reason is that they compete asymmetrically, which means they can be overwhelming competition not just with their deep pockets but often with a radically different business model. This radical difference is usually a source of both strength and weakness. For instance, Google\u2019s massive advantage in monetizing user information means that it can offer services at far lower prices (often free) than nearly any other company. On the other hand, they may provide only the level of service, product feature completeness, and quality, that the data is worth. This can leave relatively unscathed the premium segment of the market, if there are customers willing to pay more for the service than their data would be worth to Google\u2019s monetization machine. On the other hand, if your target\u2019s unique selling proposition is \u201cbe lowest price\u201d in a segment that fits Google\u2019s ambitions, then run like hell.<\/p>\n\n

      An alternative viewpoint to this entire argument is that investors shouldn\u2019t see hyperscale players as a concern, instead they should view them as a great exit strategy. I think this is mostly outdated thinking.<\/p>\n\n

      In the past, hyperscale players were frequent acquirers because they sought talent and users. Today, they have an overwhelming amount of both; and they\u2019re instead looking for stack integration and to leverage a common graph(s) across their portfolio. This allows them to drive differentiated insight from aggregated data and to create compelling user simplicity through offering common data objects across all their services. In this new world, acquisitions can be more of an integration burden than they were in the past. If the target company has a data moat, then it might still prove attractive. But if what sets it apart is feature differentiation, then that\u2019s just altogether too replicable. Look at Microsoft Teams, Hire by Google, Amazon Chime, Microsoft Bookings\u2026these are all recent organic entries into spaces where attractive, actionable acquisition candidates existed.<\/p>\n\n

      Trying to decipher the business model of the large tech players in and around your space? A good way to do so is to spend time poking around the (often publicly available or otherwise easily ascertained) product feature roadmaps. Where is the company building toward? What does the feature prioritization say about engineering resource investments? Of course, this is true for incremental moves; heavy R&D projects (e.g., \u201cGoogle X\u201d or Microsoft Research), or transformative acquisitions are harder to predict. However, their relative infrequency of occurrence (let alone success) should put them lower on the list of risks. If you want the opinion of a seasoned observer, though, you can always head over to Ben Thompson\u2019s excellent stratechery.com and see if he\u2019s done an analysis of the hyperscale competitor\u2019s strategy yet.<\/p>\n\n

      Large technology companies are like Ohio-class nuclear submarines: they\u2019re well-armed, pop up in the middle of nowhere, and typically outlast their adversaries. They are also driven by a predictable mission\u2026you don\u2019t outgun them, you just make sure you never end up needing to try.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      In a recent conversation with a leading technology-focused sponsor, I was asked an interesting question:\u00a0if [insert hyperscale technology company name] is getting into everything, then how do I know what\u2019s …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":[82],"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"featured_image_background_position":"","promoted":false,"promoted-priority":0,"footnotes":""},"sector":[],"topic":[72,98,71,75,87],"audience":[],"insight-category":[144],"class_list":["post-529","insight","type-insight","status-publish","hentry","topic-business-model","topic-competitive-position","topic-disruptors","topic-economies-of-scale","topic-usp","insight-category-competitive-position","author-jeff-merkle"],"yoast_head":"\n019: Avoiding Asymmetric Competitors in Technology Investing - GRAPH Strategy LLC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ja_JP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"019: Avoiding Asymmetric Competitors in Technology Investing - GRAPH Strategy LLC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a recent conversation with a leading technology-focused sponsor, I was asked an interesting question:\u00a0if [insert hyperscale technology company name] is getting into everything, then how do I know what\u2019s …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GRAPH Strategy LLC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T01:33:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MG-DEFAULT-IMAGE.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4\u5206\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/es\\\/insights\\\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/es\\\/insights\\\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\\\/\",\"name\":\"019: Avoiding Asymmetric Competitors in Technology Investing - GRAPH Strategy LLC\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-12-27T14:53:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-09T01:33:14+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/es\\\/insights\\\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"ja\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/es\\\/insights\\\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/es\\\/insights\\\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Insights\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/insights\\\/all\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"019: Avoiding Asymmetric Competitors in Technology Investing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Matters Graph\",\"description\":\"Matters Graph is a specialist buy-side-focused consultancy that provides objective fact-based commercial due diligence and value gen support for private equity and private lender clients.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/mattersgraph.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"ja\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"019: Avoiding Asymmetric Competitors in Technology Investing - GRAPH Strategy LLC","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/","og_locale":"ja_JP","og_type":"article","og_title":"019: Avoiding Asymmetric Competitors in Technology Investing - GRAPH Strategy LLC","og_description":"In a recent conversation with a leading technology-focused sponsor, I was asked an interesting question:\u00a0if [insert hyperscale technology company name] is getting into everything, then how do I know what\u2019s …","og_url":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/","og_site_name":"GRAPH Strategy LLC","article_modified_time":"2026-04-09T01:33:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2400,"height":1350,"url":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MG-DEFAULT-IMAGE.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4\u5206"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/es\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/","url":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/es\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/","name":"019: Avoiding Asymmetric Competitors in Technology Investing - GRAPH Strategy LLC","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-12-27T14:53:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-09T01:33:14+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/es\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"ja","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/es\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/es\/insights\/avoiding-asymmetric-competitors-in-technology-investing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Insights","item":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/insights\/all\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"019: Avoiding Asymmetric Competitors in Technology Investing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/","name":"\u30b0\u30e9\u30d5\u306b\u95a2\u3059\u308b\u4e8b\u9805","description":"Matters Graph\u306f\u3001\u30d7\u30e9\u30a4\u30d9\u30fc\u30c8\u30a8\u30af\u30a4\u30c6\u30a3\u304a\u3088\u3073\u30d7\u30e9\u30a4\u30d9\u30fc\u30c8\u30ec\u30f3\u30c0\u30fc\u306e\u9867\u5ba2\u306b\u5bfe\u3057\u3001\u5ba2\u89b3\u7684\u3067\u4e8b\u5b9f\u306b\u57fa\u3065\u3044\u305f\u5546\u696d\u30c7\u30e5\u30fc\u30c7\u30ea\u30b8\u30a7\u30f3\u30b9\u3068\u4fa1\u5024\u5275\u9020\u652f\u63f4\u3092\u63d0\u4f9b\u3059\u308b\u3001\u8cb7\u3044\u624b\u5074\u306b\u7279\u5316\u3057\u305f\u5c02\u9580\u30b3\u30f3\u30b5\u30eb\u30c6\u30a3\u30f3\u30b0\u4f1a\u793e\u3067\u3059\u3002.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"ja"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight\/529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/insight"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight\/529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1468,"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight\/529\/revisions\/1468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"sector","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sector?post=529"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=529"},{"taxonomy":"audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience?post=529"},{"taxonomy":"insight-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/insight-category?post=529"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mattersgraph.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/author?post=529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}