This is a profoundly complex question.  Or, rather, answer.  : )<p>Everyone knows one Ken Olsen quote, though few people know it&#x27;s taken hugely out of context[1] - it was quite prescient at the time (and the next few decades) though with a bunch of RPi &#x2F; IoT &#x2F; HUE gear in my home now, perhaps he was wrong after all.<p>Mind, his anti-TCP position is almost as naive &#x2F; famous -- but aligned with several other CEOs of large organisations that are still with us.<p>Is there ever a single sound-byte-able response to the question &#x27;what killed company X?&#x27;?   Probably not.   Perhaps they backed the wrong architecture.  Or they naively went up against Microsoft (a very different beast to the cuddly MS of today).  Or they disrespected their customers just a wee bit too blatantly.  Or their QA dropped unforgivably (or at least uncompetitively) low.<p>[1]  <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.snopes.com&#x2F;quotes&#x2F;kenolsen.asp" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.snopes.com&#x2F;quotes&#x2F;kenolsen.asp</a>