Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: A concise perspective on the major decisions that confront every software business. As the CEO of a software startup, I found Dr. Cusumano's work insightful yet obvious (in the way of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People). We all can learn something from this book. I was particularly struck by the discussion on the tension between a "software" company and a "services" company, which is something that we struggled with mightily and after much debate arrived at the same conclusion that Dr. Cusumano so eloquently lays out. If only I had read this book a year ago! This is a must read!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: A concise perspective on the major decisions that confront every software business. As the CEO of a software startup, I found Dr. Cusumano's work insightful yet obvious (in the way of Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People). We all can learn something from this book. I was particularly struck by the discussion on the tension between a "software" company and a "services" company, which is something that we struggled with mightily and after much debate arrived at the same conclusion that Dr. Cusumano so eloquently lays out. If only I had read this book a year ago! This is a must read!
Rating: 
Summary: quick browse
Review: After a quick browse I was left with two basic questions.1. The author mentions that software companies build product or sell service or everything in between. Is not that obvious ? Moreover, is there commerce/business on anything other than product and service ? 2. The author lists a number of startups in a table with some financial and other types of figures. Are these real names- because I have not heard of a single one of them ?
Rating:
Summary: Practical advice for software executives
Review: Cusumano keeps surprising me with the timeliness of the books that he has published during the years. Back in 1995 I was head of development for a software company and once I got hold of his book "Microsoft Secrets: How the world's most powerful software company creates technology, shapes markets, and manages people" I became a believer in Cusumano's work. The follow-up work from Cusumano and co-writers have become part of my software engineering and software business library. The last work from Cusumano "The Business of Software: ..." is very timely as software market is evolving rapidly towards commodity business where end user organizations expect to buy and pay for software based on different grounds and premises than before. Cusumano's book reflects on many hot topics that EVERY software executive should be aware of like different software business models with corresponding economic metrics, setting up market segmentation with predictable revenue models, best practices in software development, outsourcing to low-cost countries like India and China etc. Also, Cusumano discusses thoroughly about software entrepreneurship and issues when setting business strategy and what impact venture capitalists could have for a software vendor. I believe that many software organizations do not understand what it really means to be run by venture capital driven Board of Directors. According to the ten case studies outlined in his work, some healthy software companies were pretty much destroyed by VC's and this is certainly not something that one should want to happen. Cusumano lists eight points that one should look at when evaluating software businesses. This was very helpful for me to reflect on and see how my company rates when evaluated against these eight points. This book should be read by EVERY software executive that wants to be updated of what is going on in the software business. This is one of the very few available books that specifically address the needs of a software businesses and this makes this book even more valuable. Cusumano outlines ten different case studies in his book, some complete failures and some successful and each and every one of these case studies have a lesson that we should learn from. We seem to think that we have seen it all, but the best way to learn is to learn from mistakes and never repeat these mistakes. Unfortunately we tend to forget this rule and I have decided long time ago to learn from others and then apply this knowledge in my own software business. I have introduced several successful products by remembering this rule. I also recommend you to read other books from Cusumano and the experiences that he shares from tens of different businesses.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid Overview of the Software business
Review: Cusumano presents a solid overview of selected topics relevant to the software business. He focuses on the following topics: strategy for software companies, best practices in software development, and software entrepreneurship. He makes use of case studies and provides insight on the inner workings of Microsoft, IBM, Netscape, Business Objects, and i2. In the chapters discussing strategy, he analyzes product versus service focused organizations. He also discusses market segmentation and whole product solutions as described in Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm." With regards to best practices in software development, much of the material is from "Microsoft's Secrets." Cusumano describes the pitfalls of waterfall development and describes the key concepts of Microsoft's synch and stabilize technique. A few pages are devoted to outsourcing and specifically the rise of the Indian software business. I would have expected more analysis on some of the newer agile development methods -- such as XP. Lastly , Cusumano covers software entrepreneurship. He provides an eight point framework to evaluate a software start up. Does it have the following characterisitcs ?
1. Strong management team
2. Compelling new product, service, or hybrid solution.
3. Strong evidence of customer interest
4. An attractive market
5. A plan to overcome the credibility gap.
6. Business model showing early growth and profit potential
7. Flexibility in strategy and product offerings
8. Potential for large payoff to investors.
The text also has a useful appendix with income statement analysis of Business Objects and i2 , and growth comparisons between various organizations. There is nothing in the text I would consider groundbreaking, but it is a solid overview of the software business appropriate for software managers and entrepreneurs.
Rating:
Summary: Solid Overview of the Software business
Review: Cusumano presents a solid overview of selected topics relevant to the software business. He focuses on the following topics: strategy for software companies, best practices in software development, and software entrepreneurship. He makes use of case studies and provides insight on the inner workings of Microsoft, IBM, Netscape, Business Objects, and i2. In the chapters discussing strategy, he analyzes product versus service focused organizations. He also discusses market segmentation and whole product solutions as described in Geoffrey Moore's "Crossing the Chasm." With regards to best practices in software development, much of the material is from "Microsoft's Secrets." Cusumano describes the pitfalls of waterfall development and describes the key concepts of Microsoft's synch and stabilize technique. A few pages are devoted to outsourcing and specifically the rise of the Indian software business. I would have expected more analysis on some of the newer agile development methods -- such as XP. Lastly , Cusumano covers software entrepreneurship. He provides an eight point framework to evaluate a software start up. Does it have the following characterisitcs ?
1. Strong management team
2. Compelling new product, service, or hybrid solution.
3. Strong evidence of customer interest
4. An attractive market
5. A plan to overcome the credibility gap.
6. Business model showing early growth and profit potential
7. Flexibility in strategy and product offerings
8. Potential for large payoff to investors.
The text also has a useful appendix with income statement analysis of Business Objects and i2 , and growth comparisons between various organizations. There is nothing in the text I would consider groundbreaking, but it is a solid overview of the software business appropriate for software managers and entrepreneurs.
Rating:
Summary: Good foundation for understanding how the SW biz works
Review: Cusumano's book is a clear and straighforward read into the basic issues that any software company should consider at their inception and as they mature. Cusumano lays out the basic relationships between products and service very clearly - and he explores the pitfalls involved with good detail from the companies that he has advised. In this early portion of the book he also offers some very useful metrics to help provide financial sanity checks. There's an interesting "historical" chapter that follows the development of the industry, and then he delves into SW development best practices - which appears to be his particular forte. There's also a good chapter on the start-up phase sprinkled with sage advise. My copy is full of margin notes and has already been transformed into a powerpoint presentation to share with our team. All in all I found the book gave me a solid foundation from which to consider the SW biz. It's too easy to lose your sense of direction in this industry. Cusumano's book is like a glowing compass that illuminates the common sense dynamics driving this business. Enlightening, useful, well grounded in examples - and well written.
Rating:
Summary: Packed With Knowledge!
Review: Even after the dot-com boom and bust, software remains the business world's glamour industry. In this insightful study, professor and industry expert Michael A. Cusumano skips the glitz and goes straight for the nuts and bolts. The result is a clear rendering of exactly what makes one software firm hit it big while dozens of others go broke. Despite a slight, occasional tendency to sound academic, Cusumano really explains why a well-run software company can be a gold mine. He carefully covers the best practices in the software development industry in depth and offers plenty of real-world case histories to add juice to what could have been a dry recitation. He even explains why you have to hold on so long when you call a mass-market software firm's toll-free number. We recommend this detailed book to software pros seeking insight into their industry, as well as to investors and to those who like inside stories about entrepreneurial adventures.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent book except for MS reader version
Review: I am a GM of a small software company in Sri Lanka. I had many questions and this book has answered quite a few in the second chapter alone. Prof. Cusumano writes well because I read it easily. Also, he has done the background work for it. I have read his column in the CACM and his ideas could be of much value to anyone running a software company or aspiring to start one. I have just one complaint about the MS Reader version. I have found it impossible to read graphs and tables. I do not know whether it is the same with the Adobe reader version. I have given five stars because I found the book informative as little could be garnered from trade magazines about the software industry or its players. Buy the book in paper form because you could refer it quite easily. I do not know whether you would like the e-book form with its inherent limitations. I have found it difficult.
Rating:
Summary: Distinctive
Review: I am in the software business for about 20 years now. This book is an essential one for any company thinks to start a software business. It gives you a great insight of how you can tolerate your SW business in a very competitive envioronment with too many business models. I strongly recommend this book.
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