April 1, 2011 marks 35 years of innovation at Apple. Since its birth, Apple created the "personal computer" market, at the same time -- 25-30 years later -- it is also the one that "kills it". Today -- with its iOS based devices -- Apple lead the market into what they called "the Post-PC era"; and the entire market players seems to silently agree, and follow Apple's lead.
If we trace back into Apple history, this 35 years shows many amazing accomplishment for this "iconic Steve Jobs company". It was born with "great innovation and excellence DNA" from its birth. It was known for its "gut" on bringing the concept of "excellence" and "computers" to the next possible edge. At the same time it was also a company that shows it always need have "Steve Jobs to be around" for its marketing and innovation to flourish. Those that read articles in the 90s might still remember how during the 90s Apple has its period of being considered almost "dead" during the period when Steve Jobs was not around at Apple, yet -- amazingly -- it was also the same "Apple" that make a great turn-around comeback when "Steve Jobs is back and around in the company".
For the past few years since Steve Jobs is back at Apple, Apple innovation and marketing seems to find its mojo back. And during the past 10 years, many companies -- and once leading market leaders -- seems to get "confused" how to compete with Apple integrated "hardware+software+content" innovation approach.
Yet this year might deemed abit different. As the market responded favourably to many of Apple great innovations, Apple competitors in this "Post PC era" seems start to find its "seed formula to compete with Apple innovations"; no longer Apple competitor trying to "beat Apple" by their own (a.k.a individually as a company -- head to toe), instead a group of "alliance companies" seems to form. Each players individually contribute on one layer of "hardware+software+content" that Apple excels at, and together they bring a "collective excellence" that eventually -- perhaps -- could match (or even exceed) Apple's current excellence.
The Android ecosystem is the most notable example.
Instead of competing with Apple one on one, the Android ecosystem seems to start forming a "layer of excellece" driven by multiple companies at the same time: Google on the OS innovation, Samsung in hardware innovation, and recently Amazon.com in the Android app-store innovation. This is only one of the example of "competing excellence" that starts to form, as a "worthy & viable" alternative to the Apple innovation structure.
Together this "informal group" create a "complete stack" of Android ecosystem that increasingly getting better and better, in ways that eventually -- one day (or even "sooner") -- perhaps would match Apple's level of comparable excellence. The way this new "competing ecosystem" works: each individual company contributes and innovate on their area of expertise; yet as a "total stack", their innovation, excellence and innovations start to increasingly meet and match Apple's self-created (and solely owned) stack and ecosystem.
It was in "the truest Apple tradition" that Apple was born owning everything that forms their platform. From hardware to software to content -- Apple always have it on their own. Apple flourished tremendously because of this, yet Apple was also almost dead as a company in the mid 90s because of such "closed yet integrated structure" too.
The key pattern so far is: under Steve Jobs' leadership such "innovative yet closed stack model" works tremendously. Yet when Steve Jobs was not around (as in the mid 90s), such formula "kills Apple down to its toe".
As such, it becomes pretty mixed and difficult to predict how Apple would survive its next years of amazing innovation if its still hold this "exclusive-ownership model" when Steve Jobs one day no longer active in the company. Would Apple be able to survive those periods without its "father" (Steve Jobs) being around to run Apple directly? Or would it face the same "differentiation difficulties" that almost lead it to "its death as a company" as it once happened in the 90s?
We don't know what would happen. But as the "post-pc era" innovation and ecosystem start to flourish, Apple's biggest challenge moving forward -- I predicted -- perhaps would be twofold:
- One is the period when Steve Jobs is no longer running the company directly day to day.
- Second is the period when Steve Jobs is no longer running the company directly, yet at the same time when Apple's competing ecosystem start to find its "best collective excellence model" which consist of best innovative players in the calibre of Google + Samsung + Amazon.com as we mentioned before.
Although the future remains to be seen, the past 10 years seems really has been a truly amazing transformation and amazing growth years for Apple. Throughout the period we have seen more and more people turns to "love Apple", from various position where they "don't care about Apple before", "hate Apple" before, or even "cynical about Apple before". The world seems to increasingly respect, "hate", and "love" this "fruit company from Cupertino" more and more.
Through its years of great transformation and innovation, this "fruit company" has shown and inspire the world that great product and great innovation matters; It has shown the world that the "silliness" of boring product innovations, and an industrial dogma that relies on "cheap and lowest price" as a "powerful tool to compete" can indeed be beaten through "excellent innovation" and "amazing excellent product design".
Everybody seems to be shocked by Apple innovations of the past years, yet at the same time -- having learned the "Apple pattern" -- everybody now seems to be in the "rush" trying to be "Apple too". As a result of "Apple influence" today we start seeing notebooks with better design, desktop computers with better design, tablet computers with better design, smartphone with better design. Everybody try to integrate hardware, software, internet together -- so they together work flawlessly -- the way Apple leading product does.
So far, Apple has tremendeous lead and advantage in these areas of combined hardware+software+content ecosystem. But as new "smart group of competitors" start to come up and find "new way" to combine their expertise together so they can offer a "viable alternative ecosystem to Apple's" -- such as the "Google + Samsung + Amazon" combined-ecosystem, Apple's own "closed ecosystem model" seems to become the "key factor" that could lead Apple to its next amazing success, or amazing failure once more. So far -- under the direct leadership of Steve Jobs -- such model works tremendously great; but -- so far -- Apple has not had any historical trace yet, which shows how such "closed model" works -- when Steve Jobs is not around.
"Closed-ness" of Apple ecosystem perhaps might become the "key factor" that "need to be watched" for years to come. This year, as "more open ecosystem" (such as Android) start find their "formula" to "match" Apple "closed ecosystem", Apple might soon come up with "next leap frog innovation" that would keep the distance between Apple and the "new viable alternative ecosystem" far and awayeven further.
Worthy competitors -- each of Apple's own calibre -- consist of Google, Samsung and Amazon start forming a "viable alternative ecosystem" model that one day could inspire the birth of "various viable alternative ecosystem" that together might challenge Apple's model and "leading ecosystem" in a massive, collective way.
Apple surely need to innovate, market, and overcome these for years to come. Currently it keeps its distance by keep innovating, keep marketing in Apple's unique, amazing and iconic way, at the same time Apple also increasingly putting the barrier to competition by encouraging everybody to write content and apps natively to the Apple platform only. Under the direct leadership of Steve Jobs, no doubt: such formula works. But for many years to come, especially when Steve Jobs one day perhaps no longer directly active in leading the company, the effectiveness of such great formula perhaps need to be "looked at", or "be innovated further".
All and all: it truly has been an amazing 35 years for Apple under Steve Jobs leadership. The world indeed has turn and transform better because of their "Think Different" innovations. It is indeed (and no doubt) a truly amazing accomplishment.
Way to go Apple! Highest salute to Steve Jobs. All thumbs up!
Posted via email from arvino's posterous
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