Justin Fox, Columnist

How Tech's Undisruptables Got That Way

Explanations for Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft's success.

February 8, 2016 at 10:38 PM UTC

Justin Fox is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business, economics and other topics involving charts. A former editorial director of the Harvard Business Review, he is author of “The Myth of the Rational Market.”

Too big to fail?
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

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We live in an age of rapid technological change and disruption. Launching revolutionary startups is cheaper and easier than ever. No established company is safe. Except for, you know, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google (Alphabet, if you prefer). Oh, and maybe Microsoft.

The notion that the biggest tech companies have an unsurmountable advantage is in fashion. “The period where tech startups can readily disrupt larger tech companies is ending,” Jessica Lessin wrote last week at The Information.1454965398917 Twitter co-founder and Medium Chief Executive Officer Ev Williams chimed in, arguing that while “it’s easier to start a company than ever before, it’s harder to compete.” And last month, New York Times tech columnist Farhad Manjoo anointed the companies I listed above “the Frightful Five”: