igure 2 demonstrates the appearance of new interfaces and software layers along the evolution. In the innovation phase each of the hardware vendors (A, B and C on the left) has implemented proprietary software interfaces to their hardware P. Tyrväinen Process P Process P Process P1 Software IF 2 SW IF 4 SW IF 5 Software IF 1 Software interface 1 Innovation phase Productization phase Service and variation phase Fig. 2 Software interfaces and vertical dis-integration along vertical software industry evolution (labelled "SW IF"). Each of them has also developed the application (labeled "Soft- ware product" A, B and C respectively) for supporting user process ("Process P"). This example could represent three elevator vendors or early market of game console vendors, each developing the game software products for their customers. In case vendor C is the market leader with leading proprietary technology and the best set of patents, vendors A and B may join their forces and define a common interface ("Software IF 1" in the middle). This would drive the evolution into the Productiza- tion and standardization phase (or Productization phase, in short). In this case the application offering provided on top of Software Interface 1 would be competitive and attractive as it would include not only the products of vendors A and B, but in addition software offerings of independent software vendors (ISVs) building their applications on top of Software Interface 1 (or interfaces built on top of it). Increasing number of customers would attract more ISVs and hardware vendors (vendor K) to support the interface, providing a growth cycle for the micro ecology round Software Interface 1. In the Productization phase the competing microecologies try to find the optimal structure to gain maximal user acceptance within the industry. The competing interfaces may also build on top of each other, the way S60 platform is building on top of Symbian in the domain of operating systems for mobile phones while competing with Android and Microsoft Wi