You’ve all heard of Apple? The little company started by Steve Jobs so many moons ago whose ship was once listing so badly it had to be rescued by the Beast of Redmond (Microsoft). It’s funny how things can turn around so quickly. Apple is now one of the biggest companies in the world and their star seems to keep on rising. So what’s behind this rejuvenation of a computer company that, not that many years ago, was on the verge of going under? It’s all about quality.
Call yourself a fanboy, call yourself agnostic but you can’t deny that Apple has done an amazing job of integrating software and hardware. Sure, they’re not the cheapest but products like the Mac Book, iPod and iPad are pretty impressive pieces of hardware. I won’t delve into the iPhone as there are many out there who still have grumbles about their, ‘user experience’!
So what’s next for Apple? Well, I think there’s a world domination plan forming in Steve’s head but there’s one thing blocking the path – Google. The current no.1 search engine might be in exactly the same markets as Apple but the target is common to both companies: end user data. Google needs it serve the best results, Apple needs it to improve their products.
Now, Apple may own the platform but Google, through it’s setting as the default search engine in most browsers (including Safari) owned the data. And through this data they own you. Google knows what you search for. The length of time you spend on a site helps to define your preferences and what you buy helps them target you with highly advertising which, when clicked, earns Brin and Page a few pennies more.
So, how likely is it that Google would share this rich vein of gold with Apple? That’s not even worth answering. So what can Apple do?
They could easily gather ALL data that you enter on you Mac/iPad/etc and start collating it all in order to deliver highly focussed ads. The problem is that with so many devices out there Apple would need a colossal infrastructure to support this capability.
Alternatively, Apple could build a search engine then set it as the default option in all Safari browsers. Many tech pundits have said this is unlikely to happen and I tend to agree, unless…
Once the hardware becomes ubiquitous what do you have left to sell? An upgrade? A new design? Both will probably bring repeat custom but they’re unlikely to generate the revenues that are needed to keep the company at the number one spot. This makes an Apple search engine more likely. Once you own the platform and all the data stored on it, well, that’s the day Apple takes over the world!