¶ … Apple Competitor Creating Disruptive Innovation as an Apple Competitor

Apple continues to create an entirely new level of disruptive innovation in the areas of MP3, smartphone and tablet PCs by continually fueling new ecosystems of musical and video content while revolutionizing the hardware experience. The continual evolution of the iPad is today re-ordering the structure of the PC market and with it, enterprise computing (Apple Investor Relations, 2012). Just as the iPod and iPhone are revolutionizing music delivery it is feasible to assume that that iPad and follow-on tablet PCs will also bring the same level of rapid change into enterprise computing. Apple has redefined the concept of the platform as the competitive force in stable and emerging, high growth markets (Deck, 1997). This focus on ecosystem-driven profitability however is ripe for disruptive innovation at the individual customer experience and device level. The intent of this analysis is to look at how a more powerful customer experience strategy at the device level can reorder the table PC market, using the Porter Five Forces Model as the frame of reference for this transformation (Porter, 2008).

Ecosystems Aren't Enough Anymore

Apple, as of this writing in December 2012, faces a multitude of threats. Their operating systems are under attack from Google and...

The Apple iTunes ecosystem, which at one time generated nearly 30% of all profits for the company is increasingly under attack from free services including Spotify that have very unique, all-you-can-listen-to business models that are making iTunes outdated and expensive (Apple Investor Relations, 2012). iTunes did revolutionize music and video distribution and also showed that scalability across devices could be accomplished relatively quickly from a platform standpoint as well (Deck, 1997). Figure 1, Apple Product and Services Ecosystem, taken from a filing the company made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) highlights how the iTunes ecosystem works (Apple Investor Relations, 2012).
Figure 1: Apple Product and Services Ecosystem

Source: (Apple Investor Relations, 2012)

Creating a Device That Delivers An Experience By Anticipating Content Interests

What's still lacking in the Apple product line and design philosophy that allows for radical personalization and customization. Apple has not allowed customers to create their own unique iPad designs as the company has adhered to such a strict approach to defining standardization throughout their supply chain, procurement and manufacturing processes (Cusumano, 2008). Apple is willing to forego entrance into higher growth, and potentially…