Collabrys, Inc. (A) case: For Discussion Only

I have listed below some of the questions to guide your reading of the Collabrys, Inc. (A) case. We will be discussing the case in class on Monday, March 21st, 2005. I would suggest that you think about other issues that are not discussed through the questions below.

What is the Business Environment like for Benjamin Wayne and the other managers in Silicon Valley in the year 2000? Specifically, consider the following issues:

• What are characteristics of the business environment make starting a new business difficult?
  
• Which of these characteristics are “generic” and which are the characteristics that are specific to the Internet boom and bust?
  
• Why starting a business at this particular time and in this particular place exacerbates those difficulties?
  

Consider the major turning points in the evolution of this startup. What did they learn at each stage in their development?

• To begin, determine what is Collabrys’ product/service. What is the value of the service that Collabrys delivers?
  
• Identify the major stages/turning points in the evolution of Collabrys.
  
• What did Wyane and his team learn at each stage?
  
• What are the rules implied by the various decisions Wayne and the other senior managers make? (Read article: Strategy as Simple Rules)
  
• What kinds of rules are these (refer to the how-to rules, boundary rules, priority rules, timing rules and exit rules discussed in the article “Strategy as Simple Rules”)?
  

Which of the two strategic options should Collabrys take? Why?

• To respond to this you have to essentially answer the questions – Should Collabrys be selling technology? Or Should Collabrys be delivering a service?
  
• It will help to create a table of “pros and cons” for each of the two business models – the Selling Technology model and the Delivering Service model.