Response Comments?- After posting your initial response to the question, begin making comments to your peers. A minimum of two comments made on two different d
Response Comments – After posting your initial response to the question, begin making comments to your peers. A minimum of two comments made on two different days must be posted in the discussion for a passing grade. The comments must be early enough before the end of the week to allow for replies.
Response Comments – After posting your initial response to the question, begin making comments to your peers. A minimum of two comments made on two different days must be posted in the discussion for a passing grade. The comments must be early enough before the end of the week to allow for replies.
Apple vs. Microsoft
Gus Brown (Student 1)
MBA695
Professor Yeager-Okosi
June 7th, 2022
Apple vs. Microsoft
Apple and Microsoft are the two biggest tech giants in the world today. Both were founded in Silicon Valley in the 70’s and have adapted to every new trend/challenge that has come in time. Though they are both tech companies they each dominate an area of the tech world. When one focus didn’t seem to work they put all their effort into one approach which led them to be the giants they are today. Within this discussion we will see how each company find their weakness, left it behind and exploited their strengths.
Apple
When Apple first started out they were focused on home computers competing against Microsoft. It wasn’t until 2001 when they decided to expand and release the iPod. A few years later, Apple completely redefined mobile phones when the iPhone was released in 2007. After that Apple’s business model primarily revolves around consumer tech and hardware. In 2021, there top revenue was the iPhone taking in $191.97B making up 52.48% of their revenue. Services and Accessories came in second making up 39% of their revenue. Last was the MacBook making up only 9.62% of revenue. Apple makes money by designing, manufacturing, and selling smartphones, tablets, personal computers, wearables, and accessories. Their main products include iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, Apple Watch, AirPods, and the Apple TV. They also generate revenue by offering subscription services like their iCloud cloud services, Apple TV+ subscriptions, Apple Arcade, and iTunes (Pereira, 2022). Their main focus is hardware and the income they receive from subscriptions.
Microsoft
Microsoft had the same approach as Apple but it was a tad different. They saw an opportunity in area’s other than computers. Even though they outperform Apple in the sales of computers that isn’t their main focus anymore. Microsoft provides systems and software for both entertainment and business, its core operations involve sale, distribution, and support for those solutions. They make revenue off apps, software, and Xbox games work specifically for each operating system, and they don’t run in different ones; Microsoft applies this business model to Office 365 and cloud services (Ross, 2022). Their contracting services with companies and the military have expanded their revenue beyond measure. The military uses Microsoft software for everything they do. Microsoft has created email, Microsoft teams and even a shared drive just for the military. FY2019 their server products and cloud services made up 26% of their revenue. This is the most out of all the different revenue streams.
Different Approaches
Both these tech giants may have started out trying to make the best home computers in the 1970’s but both knew they had to take different avenues of approach to really make money. A company can outperform rivals only if it can establish a difference that it can preserve (Porter, 1996). That is what both companies did; Apple went towards hardware and subscriptions. Whereas Microsoft went to software and cloud services. The adjusted their competitive strategy to stay relevant in a developing world. They deliberately choose a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value.
References
Pereira, D. (2022, May 16). Microsoft Business Model. Business Model Analyst. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://businessmodelanalyst.com/microsoft-business-model/
Pereira, D. (2022, May 9). Apple Business Model. Business Model Analyst. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://businessmodelanalyst.com/apple-business-model/
Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy?. Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 61-78. (in Business Source Premier)
Ross, S. (2022, February 9). Apple vs. Microsoft Business Model: What's the difference? Investopedia. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/111015/apple-vs-microsoft-vs-google-how-their-business-models-compare.asp
Wong, A. (2022, January 27). Apple vs Microsoft: Which is the stronger tech giant? The Fifth Person. Retrieved June 7, 2022, from https://fifthperson.com/apple-vs-microsoft/
Edited by Gus Brown on Jun 7 at 5:51am
John Cone (Student 2)
Class,
For this week, I found two companies in the same industry with differences in strategy and focus, as well as product differentiation to maintain competitive advantages. The companies I found are Nike and Adidas, both prominent corporations in the athletic wear market. These two companies have mastered their respective practices in the market, with some overlap. Both Nike and Adidas use private contractors in developing nations to supply finished products for sale at low cost to their companies. For example, Nike might leverage the factories of China and Vietnam against each other to lower costs by providing jobs to one or the other. With job creation as in important priority for both societies, Vietnam and China will provide the most advantageous position to Nike that they possibly can to secure the supply contracts (Mahdi, Abbas, & Mazar, 2015). Adidas performs much of the same efforts in similar areas of the world.
In contrast, Nike dedicates more resources to innovation, research, and development than Adidas. There is also a level of brand loyalty for Nike that allows them to charge a premium for products, similar to Apple. Adidas, however, fixates on making the distribution of their products more accessible in all areas of the world and produces a broader range of products (Mahdi, Abbas, & Mazar, 2015). We find that Nike offers 643 products and Adidas offer 2,625 in 2020. Nike performs better in the social media arena, with triple the amount of followers over Adidas on Instagram and more than double the followers on Twitter (Paul, 2020). Personally, after reading Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the founder of Nike, I am more inclined to purchase Nike products having learned his story. Maybe that is another advertising tactic of Nike that has proven successful on me, but understanding his struggle to success has made me empathize more with his decisions and the company as it exists today.
-John Cone
References Mahdi, H., Abbas, M., & Mazar, T. (2015). A Comparative Analysis of Strategies and Business. International Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, 167-177. Paul, T. (2020, April 22). Nike vs Adidas: Competitive Analysis with Data Visualizations. Retrieved from Datahut: https://www.blog.datahut.co/post/competitive-analysis-nike-vs-adidas
Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers
Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.
Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS
Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?
Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.
We write plagiarism Free Content
Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.
Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.