Swot Analysis of Apple as Per Its Position in Market in 1980’s

SWOT Analysis of Apple as per its position in market in 1980’s

Strengths:

1. Easy to use machine

2. It offers a complete desktop solution including softwares, peripherals, hardware, etc

3. Very strong R&D ( 9% sales to R&D)

4. Differentiation in design and technology ( allowed higher price)

5. Strong team of technical, visionary and businessman.

Weakness:

1. They have lesser 3rd party or compatible softwares

2. Slow mac processor

3. Closed system that other producers cant clone with

Opportunities:

1. Desktop publishing and education market

2. Customer lock-in

3. Target rich customers

Threats:

1. Lower prices can hurt its sales. ( left only with installed base)

2. IBM market share i.e. strong competition with IBM

3. New players can enter in this growing industry

Answer 1.

Along with the internal attributes (i.e. firm’s strengths and weakness), we have analysed the the competitive environment Apple is facing in 1980’s. (i.e. the opportunities and threats) .

Apple used its firm’s resources and capabilities to develop, manufacture and deliver its products to its customers. It used its strengths to grab the opportunities to enter into the market.

In 1978, Job’s mission to bring ease to use computer came true, when the company launched Apple 2. It was a relatively simple machine which people can use straight out of the box. It sparked a complete revolution in the industry and Apple quickly became the industry leader by the end of 1980. It used its strength of the strong team it had : Job- the visionary who wanted to change the world through technology, Wozniak-the technical genius and Marrkula- the experienced businessman, to enter the market with an easy to use machine.

In 1981, IBM entered the PC market, due to which market share dropped sharply. But Apple’s revenue continued to growth. Apple’s weakness of slow MAC processor and lack of compatible softwares, being a closed system limited its sales.

After April 1985, Sculley made Apple a leader by offering a complete desktop solution. Apple’s combination of superior software and laser printers gave Macintosh unmatched capabilities to excel in desktop and education market. Apple increased its spending on its strength R&D ( from 21 million $ in 1991 to 583 million $ in 1991). This helped Apple to design its products from scratch using chips, disk drives, monitors, unusual shapes, its own operating system which it bundled with Mac, its own application software and many peripherals including printers. While IBM users struggled to add hardware and software to IBM-compatible PC’s , apple users enjoyed complete desktop solution which allowed them to plug and play. This made Apple customers love their Macs.

Apple’s resources and capabilities added value by enabling it to exploit its opportunities and neutralize its threats. Offering a complete solution gave Apple a quality of rareness which no other company in market