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Apple Inc. A 30 Year Business Strategy

Apple Inc. A 30 year business strategy

A response to Harvard Business School Case Study 9-708-480 Apple Inc., 2008

Abstract

Apple’s fundamental business model has not changed since it first began business in the late 1980’s. While being a leader in innovation, Apple has consistently produced proprietary hardware and software, eventually leading to a loss of market share in any particular market they have ventured into. Even though it has learned from some mistakes, Apple’s actions in the past few years have not shown a change from the core reasons for its failures and unless new actions are taken its current market lead will eventually dwindle.

This analysis will look at the various stages of the Life Cycle of Apple, what type of business strategy was employed during that stage and the results of those strategies. We will look at Apples strategy vs. the PC side of the market and how those differences have affected Apple. Finally, the various pieces of the Apple world will be viewed to see if and what Apple has learned over its lifetime.

Apple Computer’s Business Strategy

Since its inception, innovation has been at the forefront of Apple’s ability to compete in the world market. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak sparked the PC revolution, turning the world of computers on its head. The Apple II (offered initially in 1978) drove the PC industry to $1 Billion in annual sales in less than three years. (Carlton, pg 10).

Even though initially viewed as a toy by many businesses, the Apple quickly showed itself as a viable substitute to the traditional mainframe. In the years that followed Apple continued to prove its ingenuity; being the first to introduce a computer with color, a Graphical User Interface, sound, a mouse, laptops, and many other firsts.

These inventions came to define Apple and its business strategies. Based on its fully bundled package of hardware and software Apple became synonymous with usability. A staple of Apple computers became...