Icloud Essay

For the fiscal year (FY) 2013 fourth quarter (Q4) Apple posted revenue of 37.5 billion and quarterly profits of 7.52 billion. Figure 1 shows financial data for three consecutive years from 2011-2013. See Appendix Figure 1 for financial details. Net sales for FY 2013 were $170,910 million an increase of $14,402 million from FY 2012 (Apple reports, 2013). Apple sold 33.8 million iPhones, 14.1 million iPads, and 4.9 million Macs during 2013 Q4. Apples App Stores’ sales exceeded $10 billion for FY 2013. App Store customers downloaded almost three billion apps in December 2013 making it the most successful month in App Store history (App store sales, 2013).

The information technology always require changes and updation time to time, because new technologies and techniques are coming in the market, that’s why, it is essential for the business organizations and companies to change and upgrade their information technology systems. Similarly, the requirements of the people and customers are also being changed with the passage of time and to fulfil the requirements of the customers companies are looking to change and upgrade their information technology system and environment.

Further, in 2012 net income increased to $41,733,000,000. This shows that while the industry was declining, Apple was able to stay strong and profitable.

Cloud Computing allows the company to set up what is essentially a virtual office to give you the flexibility of connecting to the company anywhere, anytime. With the growing number of web-enabled devices used in today's business environment, access to company data is even easier. There are many benefits to moving Cameron's Coffee to the cloud.

Employees are no longer tied to their desks and can use their mobile devices to access numerous applications and tools to increase productivity. Ultimately a company can turn over their IT needs to a provider and focus on other needs within their structure.

Issue 02: Apple is a wildly successful company that generates billions of dollars in profits every year. This is one of the strongest examples of how a company with the right strategy, great products, a strong leader and the willingness to take some risks can become vastly successful. The market in which Apple is strong has intense rivalry for market share. Apple is challenged with staying ahead of its competitors and maintaining long-term relationships with its customers. In order to stay ahead of the competition Apple is forced to keep product innovation a top priority. I would maintain a Blue Ocean Strategy to market our product and maintain our competitive advantage (McGraw-Hill Irwin, Page 152). The company has a strong and loyal customer base which will allow Apple to concentrate the focus to highlighting the features of our products. I will not focus on what our competitors can and cannot do; I will focus the attention to the benefits of having Apple products. Strategic marketing campaigns highlighting the different uses and features of the popular iPhone and iPad will headline the campaign.

While viewing Porter’s Competitive Strategy Model, I believe that Apple has differentiated its products from that of the competition. When Apple became the leader in its industry, they did not branch out and try and start new products outside of their norm. They kept with the computers and then ventured into the phones and tablets before any other company. They looked to differentiate the products that they offered to their customers from any other company in their industry. Over time it allowed them to set prices such as the OS X Lion to almost $100 cheaper than

When relating to the external factor which has a strategic implication for Apple’s future, it can be best described using Porter’s five forces.

Apple has prospered internally and it is necessary to consider both strengths and weaknesses. Apple has lots of strengths, the major of them being it’s impressive brand reputation, Apple managed to position the brand as “premium products” for “elite” people. Customers are loyal and tend to stay in Apple’s ecosystem. Apple’s self-reinforcing ecosystem, it has a diverse ecosystem which integrates various hardware and software products into one large interactive space. Status of top innovator, Apple is perceived as the leading innovator and its products are highly anticipated. Apple’s very strong financial performance, high profit margins and very high liquidity. It’s network of retail stores, high-quality customer service helps to create advanced user experience. A powerful marketing strategy, Apple’s team masterly uses various marketing techniques to create a hype for their products and to strengthen the brand.

The revenue for that same quarter was $7.51 billion with a net quarterly profit of $1.05 billion. The Macintosh computers unit showed a 51% unit growth while the IPOD unit showed a 1% unit growth. According to Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, "We're delighted to report 43 percent revenue growth and the strongest March quarter revenue and earnings in Apple's history."

CUPERTINO, California—April 20, 2010—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 second quarter ended March 27, 2010. The Company posted revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $9.08 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.62 billion, or $1.79 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.7 percent, up from 39.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple Inc. is the most revered corporation of the USA, both in terms of brand equity and market capitalization. The company’s international competitive strategy is focused on the innovative product development, which Apple controls through its eight business segments: Portables, Desktops, iPads, iPhones, Music related products and services, peripherals and hardware (Lam et al. 2005).

Information technology is of great importance in this century 21, where life depends on rapid technological development. In the business world, information technology has been a big difference since its emergence as it helps in the development of both domestic and international sectors. Before Information technology in companies was more hierarchical in the transmission of information (misinformation). With the advent of information technology, the transfer of information has become much easier than ever and it was one of the most important reasons for the emergence of competitive advantages (SHARIRO, RG 2016). Information technology is one of the reasons why business technology is helping to enter the new market better and more at the present

A competitive strength assessment reveals that Apple’s success is unmatched. They have been able to maintain the leading industry position while developing and introducing new products. Stock price is continuously rising and products are always improving. The current products are improved with software updates and new products are improved by

Apple was established as an IT company dealing in exclusively in computers. However, competition in the technology sector forced the firm to focus on other consumer products. The diversification strategy has seen Apple’s sales grow tremendously in the last decade, earning the firm the No. 1 brand position at Forbes. The Apple brand is recognized on an international scale and enjoys a strong recognition thanks to its aggressiveness when it comes to creativity and innovation (Tar, 2013). It has a large number of loyal customers who would purchase the new products regardless of the market price, which guarantees profits from the new division.