Our paper focuses on firms’ strategic decision making in innovation ecosystems, highlighting how expectations regarding compatibility and value migration influence architectural design choices. Based on a study of cloud computing, we analyze how firms strategically shape the design of an emerging technology architecture. Drawing on qualitative longitudinal data, we trace the development of these organizations and analyze firms’ design choices. In¬¬ particular, we highlight the processes by which interfaces are negotiated and adopted, as well as the ways in which competitive tensions are both encouraged and mitigated. This case contrasts with existing literature that assumes competing variants that are selected over time. Instead, industry participants might, learning from historical events, attempt to pre-empt these dynamics through collaboration and interest alignment of the various stakeholders.