Running head: APPLE INNOVATIONS

Apple Innovations Regina Varnado, MSN Keller Graduate School of Management NETW583: Strategic Management of Tech Professor Sunil Samanta Case Analysis 1: Apple Computer

APPLE INNOVATIONS

Case Study 1: Apple Computer: Research how Apple managed to reinvent itself over the years. Apple was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, high school friends. Initially Steve Jobs was working for Atari and Steve Wozniak for Hewlett-Packard after dropping out of college and Wozinak deciding to design the Apple I and Steve Jobs help sell it (Sanford, 2013). Apple I was not take seriously when introduced but Apple II was a success as the first personal computer to come in a plastic case and include color graphics. Over the years Apple had many new developments and upgrades to its products but they have not been all good or all bad but with the right leadership they survived. Apples Failures According to Tynan, 2011, Apples worst failures are the designs of some products, the arbitrary and often contradictory standards in order to develop apps for the iPhone or iPad, changing the creator of the products , MobileMe and bully tactics. The designs that were considered failures include: the 1998 USB Mouse aka the hockey puck colorful, translucent, the 20th Anniversary Mac, a bronze colored $7500 monstrosity meant to honor Apples 20th birthday in 1997 and the Power Mac G4 Cube. In Apple universe theres only one way to do things: Steves way. Apples tightly controlled ecosystem and Jobs obsession with control drives the nonfaithful to the more free world of Android when he had such tight control of the additions and functionality. Apple was wildly successful based on great technology, then proceeded to ease out the geeks who created the tech and brought in more mature creators and that created very unsuccessful products that almost destroyed the company. Apples desire to prove that it too was mortal, the MobileMe launch in June 2008 succeeded beyond its worst nightmare. The $99 a year service was supposed to bring Blackberry-style syncing of contacts, calendars, and email to the iPhone masses, instead it brought migraine and mockery, along with Email outages and a rare serving of humble pie to a company that thought it could convert its Mac users to Mobile Me. Apple is considered to be the mean kid on the playground who has all the cool toys. Cross him and hell get his goons to pummel you. Like, for example the companys heavy-handed pursuit of blogger at Think Secret, AppleInsider and PowerPage in 2004 and 2005, all of whom published news about Apple products before the company had officially released them and Apple ended up ruining its own reputation (Tynan, 2011). Apples failures at times almost cost them everything but it lead to better product designs, staying focused the few products and remaining true to the original recipe. The aforementioned failures caused profit loss, reputation damage and useless designs and products. Apples Successes Apples greatest triumphs include: the iPod click wheel, being original and true to the Apple brand, image management, modernizing television and music and allowing the originator to continue what he started. The click wheel ultimately led to the tapping/swiping touchscreen interface beloved by the iPhone faithful. The iPod Classics click wheel allowed users to seamlessly filter thousands of songs with a few clicks. The click wheel paved the way for users

APPLE INNOVATIONS

to become accustomed to convenience and depth at their fingertips. Apple has focused on consumer friendly products, innovation instead of imitation and quality instead of quantity enabled Apple to not only survive but thrive. For decades, Microsoft has shamelessly tried to ape Apple, first the Windows GUI, then the Zune and now Windows Phone 7 but Apple has wisely not tried to become Microsoft. Steve Jobs didnt understand who his users are; he understood who they imagine themselves to be. Apples campaigns such as Im a Mac and Think different related to the users on an intimate and personal level. Apple pioneered the practice of selling a computer based on how you use it and how sexy it is, rather than on the features it comes with, notes David Brainer-Banker, a software engineer at eImagine Technology Group. The iPod was just another MP3 player before the iTunes Store came along in 2003 and dragged the music industry kicking and screaming into the 21st century. A few years later Apple did the same thing to Hollywood, bringing TV show and full length movies to the really small screen. Jobs ability to bend the music and movie industries to his will enabled the creation of a digital content economy that previously didnt exist and others followed suit. Apple would have been a footnote in the history of personal computing if Jobs would not have returned as interim CEO. Apple lost $1 billion on revenues of $7 billion and its stock was trading at $4 a share in July 2007 until Job returned to revive the company with his ruthless, dictatorial leadership that always proved successful (Tynon, 2011). Apples successes resulted in a faithful following, increase profits, stable organization, great employees, successful products and longevity. Apple is the envy of many organizations and will forever go down in history. Apples Culture Apples company culture focused on the strategy to be about one thing, eliminating passive aggressiveness and encouraging debate when new ideas are forming, cohesiveness throughout the company from concept to product to sales. Apples culture focused on building a high performance culture that drives innovation, outcompete the market and attracting the best employees by not venturing out too far from the successful product and making everything and everyone count (Merchant, 2010). Apples success can be directly linked back to its organizations culture of focusing on one thing, encouraging innovation, healthy debate, remaining original and making everyone (organization and consumers) a part of the product and its success. Apple have survived with the same products but improving them with new technologies and keeping them user friendly. Conclusion Apples actions of recognizing and accepting their failures as learning experiences helped them become and remain successful. Apple understands importance of technological innovation and the idea of taking things that already exist and making it new and useful by adding the technological element. Apple also understand that focusing on a few products opposed to many and making those products great and user friendly is the key. Apple has experienced setbacks like all organizations but remaining true to the companys culture allowed them to still be here, thriving and an inspiration to all.

APPLE INNOVATIONS

References Merchant, N. (June 2010) Apples Startup Culture. Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Innovation & Design. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com. Sanford, G. (2013) apple-history. Retrieved from: http://www.apple-history.com. Tynan, D. (August 2011) Apples greatest triumphs and worst failures. IT World. Retrieved from: http://www.itworld.com.