Determine Apple's Business - Technology Strengths and Weaknesses

Determine Apple's business/technology strengths and weaknesses.

There is a reason for Apple becoming one of the most popular and successful brands today. Over the years they have developed many strengths that keep them a major player in several product markets. Global expansion is key, with over 400 Apple stores globally, compared with just two over a decade ago. They are moving into emerging markets, which is being felt in countries like India where iPhone shipments tripled last quarter. Apple has a multitude of platforms, from their iPhone to the iPad to the Mac. Their production contractor, Foxconn, is the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics. This gives them an edge over companies that manufacture domestically such as Microsoft with lower costs and the ability to hire people quickly. Their customer base is very loyal. For example, 92% of iPhone users plan to buy another one. Many people in their target market identify with Apple's hip and modern feel. This is seen in one of Apple's many successful marketing campaigns with the "Get a Mac" commercials featuring Justin Long as the cool Mac and John Hodgman as the boring, out of touch PC. With the release of each iPhone, pre-orders have a long waitlist and many consumers camp outside stores. Apple has led the way in terms of introducing new technologies such as multitouch screens, scroll and lock, and software development and although other competitors have caught on, they still hold onto many patents. Apple's major weakness is their high price. With value tablets such as the Kindle Fire and Nook, Apple has seen its sales become sluggish. Even when they introduced the iPad mini as a low priced option, it was still priced higher than thought. Many of their programs are only available for use on Apple products, which prevents them from generating extra profit with selling them to Windows users.

What are Apple's products and the corresponding Core and enabling technologies comprising Apple's technology platform? Identify at least 5 technologies. Distinguish between core and enabling technologies.

Apple's products are Macs and their software, iPods, iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV. Software development is a key core technology. Their operating systems (OS) are Mac OS for the Mac product line and iOS for their other products. Apple introduced the Boot Camp software, allowing Mac owners to install Windows, but OS X cannot be installed onto other computers. Although Mac OS was seen as a superior product to Windows Vista, Windows 7 has come back and became very competitive quality-wise.

Programming at Apple, specifically C++ and Objective-C has led to their web browser, Safari. This is included in all Mac OS and iOS programs. They are powered by WebKit, a layout engine software. Although Safari only comprises of around 8% of the browser market, it is the most popular mobile browser.

Apple relies heavily on their customer support, which is a core business strategy, but still vital to success. Although costly, they have a variety of programs that are designed to be very consumer friendly. One on One membership provides one on one training and assistance for a year, Genius Bar allows the user to easily make appointments and go into the Apple Store with technical questions, and AppleCare provides a variety of coverage from hardware to software support, as well as other technical issues. Apple uses these high tech customer support systems in lieu of the traditional over the phone customer services used by most companies and it has paid off in terms of extra revenue and satisfaction.

Cloud computing is another technological competency. The iCloud is Apple's cloud storage, built into new Apple products. Like other cloud services, music, files, photos, and other data is automatically transferred to the cloud. One interesting function is the find my iPhone app, which allows users to log into the iCloud website and find missing their missing device. The enabling technology is the cloud engineering, which goes hand in hand with the enabling technologies of software, systems, and other areas.

Development of apps is a major technological competency of the iPhone, iPod, and iPad (a few Mac OS have apps). Apple started the App Store in 2008 and has since blossomed. By early 2013, there were over 800,000 apps available and over 40 billion downloads. The enabling technology is Apple's iOPS Dev Center, which provides the resources for potential app developers. Everything from registration to distribution is available.

Multi-touch technology is the driving force behind Apple's highly popular touch screen. Because it uses complex multi-layers of screens with sensitive electrodes, Apple's electrical engineering has been the enabling

In all of Apple's technological competencies which are evident in all or most its products, the enabling technologies that drive them are not immediately