BUSINESS STRATEGY

CE-4

SHANTI BUSINESS SCHOOL

SUBMITTED BY: - SUBMITTED TO:-

SHIVAM KUMAR Dr. Prashant Sharma
SECTION: A

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Question 1. What are the Pros and Cons of Apple’s tight control of
licensing?

Answer: -
Businesses may decide to collaborate in order to get raw materials, knowledge,
innovation, financing, or market access instead of exploring acquisitions.
Alliances and partnerships can be used to test out new ideas at a lesser cost
than internal expansion or acquisition. Several of the crucial elements of the
plan are altered by the collaborative approach. Apple has created a collective
strategy to describe how an organization's network of alliances or partnerships
interacts with other comparable networks.
Because of this, Apple's stringent licensing requirements offer both Pros
and Cons: -

 Pros: -
Apple progressively expanded the iPod's ability to read a variety of file types.
Because Apple wouldn't grant any product licenses, he kept control over
production and set high prices. The licensing for Apple's Macintosh operating
system was severely constrained, making it difficult for many third parties to
produce software. But Apple's strategy was effective. The Microsoft Zune, a
rival MP3 player, was a failure.
Only accessory vendors were required to receive a license from Apple in order
for them to use the iPod interface ports. They had to do it by donating a
portion of their income, but their compatible goods significantly contributed to
the popularity of the iPod. Help was quickly required for Apple. Actually, the
iPod was the first device to merge different technologies in such a way. Apple
heavily relied on component suppliers to make the iPod device successful.
Many accessory producers, including Griffin in the US and Logitech in
Switzerland, pitched Le cases, speakers, and docking stations.

 Cons: -
Apple was surrounded by potent rivals. Sony offered lithium batteries, iPod
add-ons such as car adapters and docking stations, readersMP3, my store, and
Sony Music, whose artists could be accessed on iTunes. They were also the
owners of readersMP3 and Sony Music. The fact that Microsoft permitted the
creation of applications for its Windows operating system contributed

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significantly to its dominance of the market. It signaled the beginning of a
completely closed system that could only read files in its own format and was
completely incompatible with iTunes.

Question 2. What role has ‘ecosystem’ played in Apple’s competitive

advantage?
Answer: -
People refer to Apple products as the "Apple Ecosystem" because of how
effectively they integrate with other Apple products. Each Apple product's
services, software choices, and hardware features allow for smooth
connectivity with other Apple products. Due to its ownership of chip makers,
management of manufacturing, adherence to extremely tight software
standards, and participation in a mostly controlled environment of exclusive
retail locations, Apple has a competitive edge.
These benefits give the business better control over both the costs of its
components and the value chain. The ecosystem of Apple includes many of
their features as well as all of its present services, products, and features.
Everyone, from young toddlers to seniors, can learn how to acquire what they
want and enjoy it because of the Apple Ecosystem's user-friendliness.
Apple's ecosystem is unique in that it handles hardware, software, and services
to support experiences rather than just promoting its products or services. The
Apple ID provides support for the Apple Ecosystem. All of the services that are
used between your devices and the devices you own are managed by Apple in
this way. I Cloud enables a set of features referred to as continuity. An Apple ID
is necessary to access all Apple services, including cloud, Apple TV, iTunes,
message, and others.
 

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