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Dawn Argese Apple Inc
(There seemed to be less ratios this time. Am I correct or did I miss something?) Important facts in this case (company, industry, competition, etc)?The company dropped “computer” from its name in 2007, reflecting its role as a consumer electronics powerhouse.Apple generated approximately $625 of revenue from each of the 40 million iPhones it sold in 2009. It generated $164 of revenue for every iPod sold, $1,279 for every Mac, and $665 for every iPadIn 1983, Apple entered the Fortune 500 at #411 after being in existence for only five years, making it the fastest growing company in history.Most PC manufacturers were rivals to Apple, like Dell, Alienware, Gateway etc. but of course you can also factor in Microsoft as a rival to their Operating System (OS X/XP).But in recent years they have branched out considerably, into online media (iTunes, MobileMe, iPhone) so you can factor in Napster and other legal music download sites, Hotmail and Gmail, and Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry and alike.Also, they rival in the server markets with HP, Sun, SGI and IBM with regards to High Performance Computing, Webserving, Centralised storage (which also brings further rivals like Brocade and Sanrad).There's also networking, the Airport lines now rival Cisco, Netgear and alike.So, they now have a very diverse range of products, and there are many rivals that are fighting with Apple in those markets. | Environmental & Competitive Scan | External factors outside the direct control of the company, but which affect the company. External factors create opportunities and threats to which the company must respond. (e.g., political, demographic, environmental, political, global, legal)Economic DepressionHigh Inflation RateWeb PiracyMusic Download sites other than I-tunesShort Product Lifecycle | Competitive factors that impact the company (e.g., nature of competition, characteristics of existing competitors, potential new competitors, substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers and customers)Strong competition from Dell HP and Toshiba for laptop salesMedia PiracyThreat to be undercut by low priced importsLong lasting economic depressionHigh speed of technology development | What are the critical success factors in this industry? How well does this company address those critical success factors?Their drive to think outside the box and change the way people interact with technology and benefit from technology.With Apple, it's not about new product features. It's all about how to fill customer needs in a totally different way. They raise the bar by offering new solutions to old problems not just different variations of the same solutions. The original Mac computer, and each iteration that followed, made it easier and more comfortable for non-geeks to connect to 21st century technology. The iPod changed the way music was distributed and the iPad the way books are distributed and the way people communicate with each other. Apple sets the bar at a high level with each product release and forces competition to copy what they've done and try to improve it. By the time they do this, Apple is on to the next new release forcing everyone to play catchup again. The basic difference, once again, is a corporate culture that rewards thinking outside the box and encourages risk but not at the expense of quality or design.In essence: 1. Design 2. Innovation 3. Simplicity 4. Cultivating Passionistas (and understanding them) 5. Owning platform | Internal Scan – what are the company’s internal strengths and weaknesses relative to critical success factors, the competition, and the environment? (Include financial ratios) | Internal strengths Ecosystem Lock-in & a Captive MarketApple’s products have worked best with other Apple products. Traditionally, this has been one biggest advantages and
