"Embrace, extend, and extinguish" (EEE) is a business strategy that was allegedly employed by Microsoft during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The strategy was often associated with Microsoft's approach towards its competitors, particularly in the context of the web browser wars.
The three steps of the strategy are as follows:
Embrace: Microsoft would adopt or support an existing open standard or technology embraced by its competitors. By doing so, Microsoft aimed to appear cooperative and gain acceptance from the industry and users.
Extend: Once the technology was adopted, Microsoft would add proprietary extensions or modifications to the standard, which were not part of the original open standard. These extensions were intended to work best or only with Microsoft's own products.
Extinguish: As a result of the previous steps, Microsoft's products with the extended features would become more attractive to users than competitors' products, which followed only the original standard. Over time, Microsoft hoped that users would be drawn to their products, and the competitors' products would lose market share or become irrelevant.
The term "embrace, extend, and extinguish" was often used in a negative context, suggesting that Microsoft's strategy was aimed at undermining its competitors and creating a dominant market position for its own products. Critics argued that this approach could lead to a lack of interoperability and hinder innovation by creating a fragmented technology landscape.
It's worth noting that this strategy and its implications were highly controversial, and Microsoft faced various legal challenges and regulatory scrutiny over its business practices during this period. However, Microsoft has since changed its approach, and the tech industry has evolved significantly over the years. Today, the focus is more on promoting open standards, interoperability, and collaboration among different companies and platforms.
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