When comparing modern day tech giants like Apple and Microsoft It is important to understand where each company was at the turn of the century and how that may have affected where they are now. In 1999 a federal judge ruled that Microsoft was a monopoly which needed to be remedied in order to create fairness in the growing market, later in 2000 a verdict was reached to entail just what these changes would be. Judge Jackson ordered that Microsoft be split into two separate entities that operated in somewhat different spaces (Fitzpatrick, 2014). This ruling would never actually come to be as the judge was later accused of unethical behavior and the company reached a compromise where they would make their software less proprietary and easier to work with by other fledgling tech companies (Fitzpatrick, 2014).
At around the same time in the early 2000’s Apple suffered from weak sales and substantial financial issues which were somewhat due macro-economic conditions. Overall sales slumped with the Power Book and Power Mac while the company was seriously under preforming in desktop sales as their tech just did not seem to match the competition. Fortunately in 2003 IPod sales began to take off as did ITunes sales establishing the company in the personal media device market and creating a niche in which they were not only competitive but dominant (Sanford, n.d).
Today comparing the rivalry is somewhat apples and oranges. If we were to consider market share concerning desktops and what operating system they utilize Microsoft is clearly the big dog with Windows owning 75.47% of systems on the market and IOS X owning 12.33% (Statcounter, 2019). However if we look at market cap from a financial perspective the two are neck and neck with Apple at $807.945B and Microsoft narrowly ahead at $809.051B on the race to 1 trillion. This is likely because of Apples dominance in the mobile market with 73.37% of tablets sold using IOS and .18% of tablet utilizing Microsoft (Statcounter, 2019). Because of these differences in product the most effective method to utilize in determining status will have to be market cap and company value giving Microsoft a narrow almost $ 2 Billion dollar victory.
I keeping with its roots, Microsoft has a strategy that involves acquires new companies with new tech, integrating their technology and advertising the brand for its efficiency and universal nature. On the other hand Apple operating systems are much more proprietary offering some advantages if a person has all of their systems on IOS or OSX. Because of this it has been my experience that the military and many corporations shy away from Apple products over concerns of their compatibility with already existing company software. In a twist of fate Apple essentially has the approach of a late 90’s early 2000’s Microsoft and it could be costing them business.
Since the invention of the IPhone Apple has come to rest on it’s laurels coming out with small variations to their top selling product every year. The new phone typically comes with an interesting new development but nothing revolutionary which helps them in a retention strategy but does less to acquire new customers (Kardes, 2015 pg. 85). A few ways the company could modify its strategy to become more competitive with Microsoft seem simple but could require the company to change its entire identity if not managed correctly. Initially they could invest in research and development in order to expand their product line, emerging technology like Virtual reality or augmented reality is young enough for the company to be a primary competitor in and if they manage the product correctly they could take over in the way they took over the mp3 player market with the iPod and iPhone (Kardes, 2015 pg.83). Another strategy might be to loosen their strangle hold on protected information and resort to the open source forms that many other modern tech companies do. By rebranding as a “global partner” Apple will be able to develop more relationships and branch out to more developing projects while reducing customer dependence on the Apple support system (Kardes, 2015 pg.79). Finally in recent years Apple has seen backlash in news publications over their treatment of employees at their Foxconn production facility in China. Worker deaths and rumors of suicide catch nets being placed around the facility to prevent further suicide attempts have gained the attention of watchdog groups who have gone on to criticize the company. Between allegations of tax avoidance and human rights violation Apple could help them by altering their brand identity to a more morally sound footing which could continue their appeal with Gen Z as they become market influencers (Cuthbertson, 2018) (Gutfreund, 2015).
On an individual level I do not believe that people prefer Microsoft over Apple especially when considering tablets and phones. It does appear that large entities with complex networks that must function together reliably and be maintained by internal staff much prefer Microsoft giving them a major advantage in B2B and therefore bulk sales. Personally I utilize Microsoft for my personal lab top and work computer because I am use to the program and that’s what I was given. I use Apple as a phone primarily because it was the brand I was aware of when purchasing my first smart phone in 2014 and it hasn’t died yet. As uncomforting as it may be whenever the current phone dies I am likely to choose a new operating system as newer IPhones have become drastically more expensive that many competitors.
References
Cuthbertson, A. (2018, February 11). The human cost of Apple’s most expensive iPhone ever. Retrieved February 5, 2019, from https://www.newsweek.com/iphone-x-release-human-cost-apples-most-expensive-ever-iphone-699901
Fitzpatrick, A. (2014, November 05). The Microsoft Monopoly Ruling Aftermath: Why Microsoft Didn’t Split. Retrieved February 5, 2019, from http://time.com/3553242/microsoft-monopoly/
Gutfreund, J. (2015, August 25). Jamie Gutfreund: Realism and Idealism: Understanding Gen Z (Future of Storytelling 2015). Retrieved February 5, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN8akfgKXNY
Kardes, F. (2015). [Chapter 3]. Consumer Behavior,2e Retrieved from https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781305161689/
Sanford, G. D. (n.d). Apple-history.com. Retrieved February 5, 2019, from https://apple-history.com/h8
Statcounter. (2019, January). Tablet Operating System Market Share Worldwide. Retrieved February 4, 2019, from http://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/tablet/worldwide
MKT 345 