Unbundling
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Unbundling is the process of breaking up packages of products and services that were previously offered as a group, possibly even free.[1][2][3] Unbundling has been called "the great disruptor".[4] Unbundling prices and extending choice are generally processes seen as favourable to customers.[5]
In the context of mergers and acquisitions, unbundling refers to the "process by which a large company with several different lines of business retains one or more core businesses and sells off the remaining assets, product/service lines, divisions or subsidiaries".[6]
Etymology
"Unbundling" means the "process of breaking apart something into smaller parts".[7]
Examples
- Massive open online courses are "part of a trend towards the unbundling of higher education"[8] by providing access to recorded lectures, online tests, and digital documents as a complement to traditional classroom instruction.[3] Online program management providers are also increasingly unbundling services in higher education, which some argue "reflects increasing sophistication—and capacity—of colleges and universities as they launch new online programs."[9]
- Software unbundling:[2] some IBM computer software "products" were once distributed "free" (no charge for the software itself, a common practice early in the industry). The term "Program Product" was used by IBM to denote that it is a chargeable item.[2]
- Harvard Business Review writer Anthony Tjan refers to law firms offering itemised billing instead of quoting a single bundled price.[5]
- Pandora Radio
- The addition of Maryland and Rutgers to the Big Ten Conference was described as part of a larger trend towards the unbundling of each university's broadcast rights to maintain profitability.[10]
- The CEO of Mashable predicted that unbundled news contents' "microcontent sharing" via software like Flipboard[11] (Android and iOS), Zite and Spun (iPhone) would be a major trend in 2013.[12]
- LinkedIn has embraced a multi-app strategy and now has a family of six separate apps, the LinkedIn "Mothership" app and 'satellite' apps ranging from job search to tailored news [13]
- The customers that live in large apartment complexes and multiple dwelling units can be unbundled in a way that allows multiple service providers to reach each of the different units.[14]
See also
- Information Age
- Creative destruction
- Disruptive innovation
- Asset stripping
- Leapfrogging
- List of emerging technologies
- Obsolescence
- Paradigm shift
- Technology strategy
- Killer application
References
External links
- Alan Jacobs, The Great Unbundling of the University theatlantic.com January 23, 2012
- Benjamin Lima, Massive online learning and the unbundling of undergraduate education, 17 July 2012
- McKinsey & Company Unbundling the corporation June 2000
- Justin Reich, Will Technology Lead to the Unbundling of Schools? Education Week, May 17, 2012
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- ↑ a b c https://groups.google.com/d/topic/alt.folklore.computers/RZA6FD27Tc0 a discussion group: OS/360: Forty years
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- ↑ a b Tjan, A., The Pros and Cons of Bundled Pricing, Harvard Business Review, published on 26 February 2010, accessed on 22 JUne 2025
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- ↑ Richmond, Shane (August 4, 2010). "Flipboard: The Closest Thing I've Seen to the Future of Magazines". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved March 4, 2012.
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