Information Technology Management
Organizations and information systems relatively influence each other in the modern business environment. Information systems are developed by firm managers to improve business operations of the firm. Any organization that embraces information systems should stay put with influences of information systems to enjoy the fruits of the latest technologies. The complex relationship between organizations and information systems is controlled by various factors such as management decisions, surrounding environment, culture, politics, business processes, and mainly the organizational structure (Henderson, 1989).
Apple was first incorporated as a company in 1976. The company’s first assignment was from the Byte Shop Computer Store. The company initially lacked the required financial depth to compete the then renowned companies such as HP and IBM. They used the few venture capital they received from Mike Markkula to develop their headquarters in California. Apple’s dream became a success when they launched their second product which they called Apple II. The Apple II production ran for sixteen years creating a pathway for the development of the company to a market share of 50% and many employees by 1980. The company started facing drawbacks in management and operations due to the growing market. There was no proper communication between the organization managers on the best way to improve their marketability. However, the introduction of new investors brought a new phase to the company changing it from a simple functional enterprise to a product oriented company. The organization was then divided into product based departments such as Lisa, Macintosh, and Apple II (Johnson et al., 2012).
Apple Inc. has turned out to be a global organization dominating the electronics industry, therefore, prompting for the dissemination of an information system. The system enables the organization to deliver the appropriate information to their clients at the right time, ensure consistent business decision making and proper information availability. Apple has a mission to remain innovative leaders and all their organizational strategies directed towards the goal. The incorporation has virtualized most of its processes to ensure a competitive advantage in the future market place. Apple has an intranet that facilitates the whole process of virtualization and is readily deployed at the employees’ desktops. In addition to the intranets, the company has also devised an extranet that improves the interactive relationship between the organization, its prominent developers and suppliers. Information is relayed from the respective retail shops to the various departments within the organization which have information on production and supplier details (Johnson et al., 2012). This leads to a continuous relay of the information system that is easily accessed by a simple mouse clicking requirement.
The information system has provided the company with an opportunity to undertake conjunction with Utility Computing. The program is referred to as Software as a service and requires that they reduce the number of computer assets owned by the organization and paying for all services undertaken. The opportunity has provided Apple with a differential with their competitors, as well as, making the whole process Information management system effective and affordable. Apple has invested in the digital asset management whereby consumers set up accounts through iTunes for future purchases. Over 100 million consumers have so far created credit account making Apple the biggest digital retailers. The clients can also access the digital content in any other Apple product they buy. The strategy increases consumer purchases, as well as, improve its marketability and competitions (Johnson et al., 2012).
The company has lately resolved to provide its consumers with information on their future products before actual launching. This reduces customer excitement and curiosity for new products. It may in turn lower the vigor of product acquisition. The information system also faces weakness in certain parts of the world like China where consumers demand physical view of products before purchasing them. The information system of other regions like Asia has no 3G or 4G technology hindering the information flow process.
Some of the threats facing Apple Information system are the supply chains. Some regions in the world like most parts of Africa lack clear information on Apple products due to poor network configurations. This negatively affects the marketability of the products as the expected consumers do not understand the new features of the products
The company, being the leading electronic provider all over the world, has many opportunities for improving its information management system. Apple can expand its market by providing its product information to all regions of the world. The company can for instance, liaise with network providers in some parts of Asia so as to improve the 3G and 4G technologies within those regions. The organization can also improve the loyalty of their clients through product promotion and advertisement. This can thus be done over the extranet to link the suppliers to their consumers.
Apple’s main competitors are HP, Google, Amazon, and majorly Microsoft. However, the organization has moved on to beat almost all of its competitors mainly due to their consistent innovative ideas and products. Microsoft poses a real threat to the software industry as most of its products are widely sold. However, when Apple smartphone, tablet, and computer operating systems are combined, Apple Inc. is on top of the market. In the search market Google leads followed by Apple in accordance with the recent prediction. Apple tablets also lead the market closely followed by the Amazon Kindle fire. Amazon has also developed more advanced products and also includes a free delivery service to its clients influencing their marketability.
The knowledge about company, products, competitors, suppliers, and organizational procedure should be bestowed in the minds of key employers only to avoid vital information leakage. It will thus be upon the company to properly control the intellectual property to cub competition and unplanned pitfalls. It also required that the company reorganize the information system to avoid being trapped in the standardization approach (Kishore, 2010).
Strategic Thrusts to Be Used by Apple Inc.
The organization should use the innovation thrust which will require harnessing employee intellectual and providing them with proper conditions for carrying out various activities within the company. These knowledge based information systems will grow and the organization can absorb them through developing virtual groups for employees and suppliers to interact and come up with new ideas that will be verified by the company for future improvement. Such ideas will be in line with the ultimate goal of the company (Hanlin, 1983).
The company can also use the growth thrust by improving their firewall systems. The company has grown to become the drawing point for other companies. This means that the organization may be at a risk of hacking. The company should focus in coming up with a robust firewall that will prevent hackers from accessing their data, and hence lowering product growth.