Useful Questions
Decisions to invest
“A little more than a decade ago, Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy” (Baltzan and Phillips, 2012, pg. 28); if top executives had not supported investments in iPods, Apple would have more than likely went into bankruptcy. By not taking a chance on this investment the company would have collapsed its competitors; however, by supporting this product, Apple was able to have the first mover advantage. Baltzan and Phillips (2012) state that “when a company is the first to market with a competitive advantage, it gains a particular benefit, such as Apple did with its iPod” (pg. 14) and this advantage allowed Apple to survive and thrive in its industry.
Open versus Closed systems In earlier technological developments, each company had its own proprietary hardware and software. Through time, Apple moved into “industry standard Intel chips, it adopted PC standards such as USB, and made its disk operating system files compatible with the PC world” (Foremski, 2010). However in recent years, and with the development of the iPod, iPhone and even the iPad, Apple is beginning to be more closed. For example, the iPad and iPhone do not support Adobe Flash or Microsoft Silverlight; which interferes with video streaming from Hulu or Netflix. Apple appears to stay in closed systems because of its lucrative nature. Although their customer base consists of people who prefer open standards and open platforms, Apple’s closed system has not deterred consumers. This is evident in the fact that last year Apple’s share price had multiplied by 23 times from $8.78 to $207.88 (Foremski, 2010).
Strategies for improving business at Apple Efficiency IT metrics “measure the performance of the IT system itself such as throughput, speed, and availability” (Baltzan and Phillips, 2009, pg. 17). A strategy Apple could use to improve its business is an