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APRIL 13, 2010
DAVID B. YOFFIE RENEE KIM
Apple Inc. in 2010
On April 4, 2010, Apple Inc. launched its eagerly anticipated iPad amid great hype. The multimedia computer tablet was the third major innovation that Apple had released over the last decade. CEO Steve Jobs had argued that the iPad was another revolutionary product that could emulate the smashing success of the iPod and the iPhone. Expectations ran high. Even The Economist displayed the release of the iPad on its magazine cover with Jobs illustrated as a biblical figure, noting that, “The enthusiasm of the Apple faithful may be overdone, but Mr. Jobs’s record suggests that when he blesses a market, it takes off.”1
The company started off as “Apple
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It sparked a computing revolution that drove the PC industry to $1 billion in annual sales in less than three years.5 Apple quickly became the industry leader, selling more than 100,000 Apple IIs by the end of 1980. In December 1980, Apple launched a successful IPO.
Apple’s competitive position changed fundamentally in 1981 when IBM entered the PC market. The IBM PC, which used Microsoft’s DOS operating system (OS) and a microprocessor (also called a CPU) from Intel, was a relatively “open” system that other producers could clone. Apple, on the other hand, practiced horizontal and vertical integration. It relied on its own proprietary designs and refused to license its hardware to third parties.
IBM PCs not only gained more market share, but they also emerged as the new standard for the industry. Apple responded by introducing the Macintosh in 1984. The Mac marked a breakthrough in ease of use, industrial design, and technical elegance. However, the Mac’s slow processor speed and lack of compatible software limited sales. Apple’s net income fell 62% between 1981 and 1984, sending the company into a crisis. Jobs, who was often referred to as the “soul” of the company, was forced out in 1985.6 The boardroom coup left John Sculley, the executive whom Jobs had actively recruited from Pepsi-Cola for his marketing skills, alone at the helm.
The Sculley Years, 1985–1993
Sculley pushed the Mac into new markets, most notably in desktop
Apple Incorporation is one of the largest organizations dealing into Information Technology. Apple has a host of products ranging from Laptops, Desktops, Mobile Phones and Multimedia Devices. The company has been extremely innovative in the field of multimedia and it owes it success to one of the greatest innovators, Steve Jobs. The company has always believed in innovation and that is the major reason why it has been so successful in the mobile phone segment. In recent years Apple is second only to Samsung in the Global Mobile Phone industry. However the operations have been largely based in the United States and in times of recession any organization needs to focus on economies of scale and thus focus on growth
Before there was Apple Inc., there were two young high school friends, Steven Jobs and Steven Wozniak. These two young geniuses were extremely interested in technology and electronics, and they used this passion to find employment. Jobs worked for Atari, and Wozniak worked for Hewlett-Packard. In April of 1976, in a garage with just $1,300, the two Stevens came together to form a dynamic duo. With Wozniak’s flair for computer design, and Jobs ability to look further into the future, they both created the Apple computer. Now branding began to emerge as Ronald Wayne became a 3rd founder of Apple Inc. since was responsible for creating the company’s first logo which he later resigned because he believed that the company would pose a financial risk. The new logo was created by Ron Janov designs. The company’s first president was Mike Scott. The company was not taken seriously until 1977 when the company came out with the Apple II, which was the “first personal computer to come in a plastic case and include color graphics,” at this point Apple Inc. became incorporated. The company continued to improve with the introduction of Apple III. In 1983, Apple Inc. became the fastest growing company in history, and at this time
* Apple’s niche audience provides the company with some lagging from the direct price competition.
The closest comparison to this small computer at the time was the Altair 8800 and the Intel microprocessors used in calculators and watches. An improved version of the Apple 1 developed into the Apple 11, the first personal computer with graphics and a keyboard, and IBM soon followed Apple’s lead with their version of a small computer. The market for personal computers had been primarily in the business industry. Apple Computer sales netted $50 million by the last quarter of 1979 (Gitman & McDaniel, 2009) and Apple soon became the personal computer of choice for many small businesses and families, especially when Apple introduced the more user- friendly Macintosh computer in the 1980’s. The Macintosh was Apple’s first major step in adapting the personal computer to the desires of corporate America. In ten years, Apple had grown from two employees in a garage to a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees (Jobs, 1985). What began as a hobby for Jobs and Wozniak soon became an essential part of many households and established the foundation for the Apple empire.
On the tail of the early PC revolution, Apple took off like a rocket. It went
* In 1981, IBM entered PC market used Microsoft’s DOS OS and microprocessor and will be Apple best rival for the start on 1981. Jobs forced out in 1985.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple in California in 1976. Their mission was to introduce an easy to use computer to market, which led to a computing revolution and quickly became the industry leader by selling more than 100,000 Apple IIs in 1980. After IBM entered PC market, IBM PCs, which used Microsoft’s DOS (OS), gained more market share and became the new standard for the PC industry. At the same time, Apple introduced the Macintosh in 1984. However, Apple’s net income fell 62% due to the Mac’s slow processor speed and lack of software limited sales. In 1985, Steve Jobs was forced out and John Sculley took charge of the Mac. Under the direction of Sculley, Apple
In 1997, Steve Jobs returned to Apple as an advisory and with the purposes of reshaping the product line. The changes made by Jobs resulted in increased sales and $309 million in profits. Job changed the mindset of Apples management and development team. He encourage them to have the “think different” management style that promotes the development of products that are ahead of the technology and design curve, and a creative retail strategy. It is this strategy that would eventually make Apple the best-selling company in the PC industry.
Even though Apple has encountered many setbacks, it continues to bring new and improve products to the market. Apple’s competitive strategy has been innovation. They have made an extraordinary effort developing, implementing, and executing its very unique strategy through innovation which has resulted in new product, and the enrichment of the existing ones. More specifically, Apple attempts to meet and supply the needs of a global market, by offering eager and enthusiastic consumers with innovated and high-quality products and services. Apple has employed a differentiation strategy linked to innovation with its three core products (computers, personal media player, mobile phones, tablets and other accessories). A key piece of their strategy involves meeting the needs of the converging digital electronics and computer markets. Apple has elected to implement its strategy by designing and developing proprietary operating systems and software technologies, thus allowing for strict protection of its intellectual rights.
Nowadays, Apple has positioned itself to be an innovator in the personal computer industry and Apple has developed by offering modern products compared to its competitors. According to Apple’s mission statement last year, “Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.” (Business Management,
In 1996, Apple was losing money and had very little market share when it purchased former owner Steve Jobs' software company, NeXT. In 1997, Jobs become CEO of Apple and began restructuring the product line, placing greater emphasis on style and the use of proprietary operating systems, rather than systems it licensed from other designers. The transformation to focus on quality and innovation led to a return to prosperity. In 2011, Apple was the third most valuable company in America and its product spread widely in more than 100 countries.
Apple has always been something of a trendsetter in the tech space. Its product history since Steve Jobs’s return in 1997 gives us a solid list of examples to choose from, from its very first iPod, to Apple’s PowerBook (and later MacBook) lines, to the iPhone and the iPad. Apple’s history is dominated by products that existed before Apple had a crack at them - but it was Apple who simplified them, made them appealing on a much wider scale, and ultimately made them objects of desire for the masses.
For Example Michael Dell from Dell Corporation with $1,000 and an idea to build relationships directly with computer buyers. Another example, Steve Jobs is a creative and innovation entrepreneur. The personal-computer industry itself began as an Apple wingding when the Cupertino, California-based company introduced the Apple II in 1977. Ever since, Apple has played the role of generous host, spicing up the festivities with one tasty offering after another. Following the PC, Apple served up many of the features that computer users have since come to take for granted, including the graphical user interface, the mouse, the laser printer, and the color monitor. Yet Apple has been forced to watch the celebrations from out in the alley, its nose pressed longingly to the window as others feast: Today, more than a quarter-century after its founding, it commands just 2% of the $180 billion worldwide market for PCs. Almost everyone agrees that Apple 's products are not only trailblazers but also easier to use, often more powerful, and always more elegant than those of its rivals. Yet those rivals have followed its creative leads and snatched for themselves the profits and scale that continually elude Apple 's grasp.
Co-founded by Steve Jobs in 1976, the company was named under Apple Computers Inc. and its initial product Apple IIe gained relative popularity and success. The release of the Macintosh revolutionized the computer experience with a graphical user interfere and a pointer devise called the ‘mouse’ was launched in the same year. The company went public in 1980 resulting in its owners gaining immediate wealth. However, its company’s
In its infancy, Apple Computer Inc. began with the Macintosh personal computer. The company was founded on April 1, 1976. The founders were Steve Wozniak and Steven Jobs. They incorporated the company in 1977, on January 3rd, in Cupertino, California. In the twenty years that followed, the company produced personal computers. Besides the Macintosh, Apple Inc. made Apple II, and the Power Mac lines. Although they lasted for decades, during the 90’s the company experienced some turbulent times with low sales and market share. Steve Jobs left Apple Inc. and came back in 1996 when his company, NeXT was purchased by Apple. In 1997, Jobs became the interim CEO. In later years it became a permanent position for him.