Apple Case -“Taking a Bite Out of the Competition”
Apple Inc. Case Study
Apple Case-- “Taking a Bite Out of the Competition”
Synopsis
On April 1, 1976 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs started and founded Apple Computers. Jobs was the visionary and marketing expert while Wozniak was more about the technical aspects. In 2004 Mr. Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Then in 2009 Jobs to medical leave from the company. Since 2004, the Apple Company led its competition in revenue and margins. And with the introduction of the products (iMac, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, and iTunes) the company started to expand into the digital entertainment market. Apple Computer change the name of the company to Apple, Inc. to symbolize its new, more diversified nature.
Critical Factors for Success
I believe that a major part of Apple, Inc.’s success fell on the fact that the introduced new, innovative products. No one in the digital entertainment market had any products even close to the iPod and iTunes technology that Apple introduced. And having such innovative product also created product differentiation for the company as well. People associated upscale and advanced products with the Apple brand. Making their products compatible with other computers besides Mac was a critical factor. Then people who didn’t necessarily have the Mac computer but had an iPod could still use the product. The opening of the App Store allowed 3rd-party developers to create applications for purchase just for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple, Inc. also worked with other companies, such as Adobe, to make Mac-compatible programs. And making Apple software available for download to any computer platform was also a factor for success. Apple also had $25 billion dollars in the bank with no debt when the economy started to drop.
Problems/Opportunities/Challenges
One major problem for Apple was the fact that Steve Jobs took medical leave. He had been the face and motivating force behind the company. And his departure had a major affect on the company,
Apple Case-- “Taking a Bite Out of the Competition”
Synopsis
On April 1, 1976 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs started and founded Apple Computers. Jobs was the visionary and marketing expert while Wozniak was more about the technical aspects. In 2004 Mr. Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Then in 2009 Jobs to medical leave from the company. Since 2004, the Apple Company led its competition in revenue and margins. And with the introduction of the products (iMac, MacBook, iPod, iPhone, and iTunes) the company started to expand into the digital entertainment market. Apple Computer change the name of the company to Apple, Inc. to symbolize its new, more diversified nature.
Critical Factors for Success
I believe that a major part of Apple, Inc.’s success fell on the fact that the introduced new, innovative products. No one in the digital entertainment market had any products even close to the iPod and iTunes technology that Apple introduced. And having such innovative product also created product differentiation for the company as well. People associated upscale and advanced products with the Apple brand. Making their products compatible with other computers besides Mac was a critical factor. Then people who didn’t necessarily have the Mac computer but had an iPod could still use the product. The opening of the App Store allowed 3rd-party developers to create applications for purchase just for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Apple, Inc. also worked with other companies, such as Adobe, to make Mac-compatible programs. And making Apple software available for download to any computer platform was also a factor for success. Apple also had $25 billion dollars in the bank with no debt when the economy started to drop.
Problems/Opportunities/Challenges
One major problem for Apple was the fact that Steve Jobs took medical leave. He had been the face and motivating force behind the company. And his departure had a major affect on the company,