MIS CASE STUDY (CHAPTER 6) TELECOMMUNICATIONS, THE INTERNET, AND WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY

Case study

Chapter 6: Telecommunications, the Internet, and Wireless Technology

1.      Compare the business models and areas of strength of Apple, Google and Microsoft.

The three Internet titans (Google, Microsoft and Apple) are in an epic struggle to dominate your Internet experience, and caught in the crossfire are search, music, book, videos, and other media.The business models of the three firms are very different.

Apple is the leader in the mobile software application. The most popularity of the App store is IPhone. Apple has gone into the stance that applications, one of the major earners for tablet and phone manufacturers, should be device restricted; for example, one application should be unique to the brand of the device and should be allowed to function in another device from another separate brand. They even stopped Google in its plans to allow Google applications to work on Apple products. Thus by doing this Apple is trying to capitalize on their loyal customer base and create an Apple weds Apple scenario.

Google has a huge edge in advertising, thanks to its dominance in Internet search. Microsoft’s offering, Bing, has grown to about 15 percent of the search market, and the rest essentially belongs to Google. It has a completely opposite stance to what Apple states. Google is the believer in the concept that in the future the devices used to run the applications and other internet options should be a fraction of what they are being charged now and instead the revenues generated should be from the in-app advertisements. Google offer Android for free to manufacturers of handset that run the operating system. Via Android, Google hopes to control its own destiny in an increasing mobile world.

Microsoft is still the leader in PC operating systems and desktop productivity software, but has failed miserably with smartphones hardware and software, mobile computing, cloud-based software apps, and its Internet portal. Even through Microsoft’s Xbox consoles and games are popular, they contribute less than 5 percent of Microsoft’s revenue. By integrating the hardware and software deal Microsoft has actually change the dynamics of the whole market. And this can be problem some for Google and Apple as they shall have to change their own perspective and outlook towards the level of competition that they shall have to face in the coming years in mobile computing.

2.      Why is mobile computing so important to these three firms? Evaluate the mobile platform offerings to each firm.

The importance of mobile computing lies in the very fact that is the future of internet technology. Companies need to excel in it so as to survive and expand in today’s world which is full of competition.Mobile computing becomes so very important for all the three mentioned firms which are Apple , Google and Microsoft as it is the future of the internet technology and for these firms to  flourish and expand they need to be very effective with mobile computing.

The mobile platform that Apple provides with its products is “iOS”. This mobile platform is the closed platform that is it is applicable for apple products and only apple apps could work on this. The latest version which is being offered is the iOS7. It would be upgraded with 200 new features. Some of the remarkable features amongst them are there is an option over which you can reply later on the calls which you can’t take immediately. Next, Integration with the Facebook over which you can share all you iPhone activities.

The mobile platform that Google provides is “Android”. This mobile platform is a universal platform when compared to the mobile platform offered by Apple. This is so because majority of the apps could work on this platform which makes it a platform that is used by many.The latest version provided by the Android software is the version 4.1 “jelly bean” (Android, 2012). Some of the notable features of this version are a simple screen swipe would provide you with search results related to Google. Besides, the voice recognition tool in this version would rub offline.

Microsoft is entering this market recently by launching the tablet named “Surface tablet”. The mobile platform that Microsoft is offering is the Windows Phone 8. This operating system will be compatible with the laptops and the desktops.Some of the unique features of this operating system are Microsoft can support dual core chips. Besides, it also can support multiple screen resolution. Next, it provides advanced map technology.

3.      What is the significance of mobile application, app store, and closed versus open app standards to the success or failure of mobile computing?

The development of applications and software’s to match these expectations is a task that all the companies in the fray to be the leader in the mobile computing market, whether it be Apple, Google, Microsoft or any other new player, shall have to look into great detail and precision.

The importance of mobile applications can be justified on this basis itself that Google has based their future growth prediction on the very same. Right now the scenario for mobile applications is such that they have are being considered as the future bread and butter of mobile IT firms. Mobile applications have such a great scope of growth in the future that they can one day eclipse the sales of the hardware part of mobile computing and form a major market themselves here players like Google and apple shall have tough competition even from small fray players if a common platform for application usage is formed, the very same reason why Apple is resisting Google’s repeated efforts for a common mobile platform.

According to expert mobile applications are even today a big part of the on the go access market. Finish mobile giant Nokia too has a say in the application future as it still has the lion’s share in the applications that are used in its mobile phones, which in spite of the recent drop are a very big number. Also applications and app stores are also being viewed as a source of major entertainment by many users of mobile computing devices, with games like angry birds and temple run taking the market by storm it is very evident that applications and app stores are a thing for the future.

4.      Which company and business model do you think will prevail in this epic struggle? Explain your answer.

   Although the market is still relatively young the first mover advantage is still not with a single competitor. To predict a clear winner in such a scenario is difficult however there are certain qualities in one of the players that can make it a winner in this battle of equals.

   In my opinion, Google is the search engine giant that has a lot of positives going for it rather than the negatives. The clear positives that can become a winner is Google has a well-established name which not a lot of players can boast of but Google is one of them, although Apple and Microsoft have chartered territories of their own but Google can fight them out both as an equal if not better. Besides, the Company has entered into all the three basic markets of mobile computing including hardware, operating system and the application stores. Their hardware is something which a few competitors can best, however the Android operating system has taken the market by storm and the app store which comes with it is a mean bully in itself.

   Although the Google bandwagon is on its way there are certain roadblocks that it can face that can halt its march and some of them are the Google brand is big but it still lacks the appeal of an Apple product and this many say is one of the most major difference between the two. The Android system although perfected to a large extent still has a few errors in the new versions that can hamper the growth of the operating system and this where a competitor like Microsoft can prevail over the Company. Lastly it can be said that Google’s move towards a common mobile application platform can itself backfire and could increase competition from local app players which can affect the overall profitability from this step.

5.      What difference would it makes to a business or to an individual consumer if Apple, Google, or Microsoft dominated the Internet experience? Explain your answer.

   Consumers would be forced to buy only one product and use only one service. They would create a monopoly and the positive would be they would create a standard. This would affect quality; prices would be as high as possible because they would have no competition. No competition means nobody could force a monopolist from the outside to improve products, diversify rang or products and lower price. Right now it is too early to tell who would dominate the internet experience but it is good to have competition than just one market leader.