As development on its AR glasses nears the release of v.1, Apple's innovation engine continues to rev up, and now the company is investing in content to drive service revenue in what should be a macroeconomic environment. hard.
agile dance, light dance
Apple's teams of economists, accountants, lobbyists, and managers bring ideas from around the world, so the company knows that to get through the years ahead, it must continue to diversify its business.
Yes, it can't make Macs and iPads fast enough, and yes, as it works to start making products outside of China, the company is terribly exposed to the continued decline of the world order. But that doesn't mean Apple can't think outside the box about how to continue to deliver good business in a tough environment. The company has been working on it for years. Its pivot into services, which accounted for 23,6% of its net income last quarter, is one of them, and it's an approach any company should explore.
But creating a new opportunity requires thought, time, effort and investment, which is potentially why Apple is spending more on content. Consider how it is aggressively investing in sports content for TV+, landing deals with MLB and MLS, and others like the NFL coming highly recommended as well. Also consider the dozens of movies and shows reported in the last two weeks alone, and the status of some of the stars he works with. None of these things come cheap, but once the filming is done, the content created becomes an Apple product, like everything you invest in.
Apple doesn't seem satisfied yet. More recently, we learned that he struck a deal with podcaster Futuro. The deal reflects the company's quest to find and film new TV+ shows as it looks to sell content to its nearly 860 million existing service subscribers. Apple gets the first chance to turn any podcast into a movie or TV show under this deal. It clearly intends to create a very large collection of high-quality, viewable, and playable content.
How to create your digital business
I know you didn't come to Computerworld to explore a long list of Apple's media content offerings, but this business represents at least three important characteristics any digital business can learn from, especially since all businesses are now digital.
For example:
Think laterally: Apple quickly recognized that if people were using its platforms to offer their own products, they might as well start using the same platforms to offer their own solutions. Ever since iTunes, the company has understood the value of content; now he provides his. Apple's opportunity to adapt to media is a bit unique, but every company has digital services they can provide: just explore nature, data and customers to identify where you can develop something that can make a difference. One example I like is the John Deere TractorPlus app, which gives farmers easy access to frequently accessed information about their machines. The business plan may not be obvious, but ordering components and providing services within the app becomes a convenience that reaches customers, as well as an opportunity to build loyalty.
Iteratively build: It's hard to imagine how significant Apple's investment in Cassady & Greene's Soundjam MP app turned out to be; maybe it was almost as basic as buying PA Semi. Think about it: Soundjam spawned iTunes, which in turn enabled the iPod and eventually became the service Apple offers now, generating almost a quarter of the big company's revenue. This journey was not easy, it took years where each platform and each evolution built in some way on the previous one. This constant iteration underpins the backbone of Apple services today, and it stands to reason that almost every business has its own unique advantages, such as data, insights, or experience, that could be reconfigured to become a new business opportunity. Technology can help identify those possibilities. Data analytics help large companies, including Adidas, NBA, Tesco and others, monitor existing customer and business experiences and identify opportunities. If they can do this, your company can also create new lines of business on top of what you're already doing. "Pull the string to see where it goes," as Apple CEO Tim Cook says.
Know yourself, know your client: We all know that Apple customers tend to be a bit wealthier, which means they also tend to be more willing to take a chance on subscriptions and less likely to give up once they do. . With its foundations exploring the intersection between technology and the liberal arts, Apple also recognizes that its core audience remains creative professionals interested in creativity and the arts. It was because she knew this that the company ran off with the iMac, iBook, iPod, and iTunes. That's what he told the company when he worked to bring Quark, Adobe, and (actually big news at the time) Maya to OS X. Apple took advantage of its existing strengths, its core marketplace, and built on top of that. from there. He focused on the needs of his customers. That's still the case, even recently with high-quality creative apps coming to Apple Silicon. But don't underestimate the importance of the services segment of the business. After all, if you win Critics' Choice Awards today for your TV shows and movies, imagine the response you'll get when you deliver this highly immersive, near-realistic 3D content. Which, of course, you'll end up doing to support the next iterative innovation you're about to introduce in the form of those AR glasses everyone's been talking about. After all, Apple's 154.000 employees like to evolve in the world of tomorrow.
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