The Man who Redefined the term "Apple"

Source :SiliconIndia, Thursday, 06 October 2011, 23:23 Hrs 

Fremont: An idol of innovation has left the world. Even his rivals are acknowledging him. Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates acknowledged his "profound impact". Such was the man of Apple, "Steve Jobs". Different people see him differently. Innovators see him as an innovator, designers see him as designer, and entrepreneurs see him as mentor and visionary. 

When we look back and try to find out the reason behind the man creating different meanings to different people, Jobs created this with simplicity with which he did what he did. His works will impact not only the present but most importantly the future. No one knew that this man will create a history by redefining Apple when he was chucked out of Apple by John Sculley at the end of May 1985 when the sales of Apple went down. Even Jobs said that being fired from Apple was the best thing that could happen to him. He started as a beginner again that freed him to enter one of the most creative periods of his life.

A man being chucked out the company that he founded, it is really a tragedy that could break any one. But, Jobs was not one of these kinds. After leaving Apple, he founded NeXT Computer in 1985 with $7 million. He re-created the second-generation NeXT cube and touted it as the first "interpersonal" computer that would replace the personal computer. With NeXT becoming his obsession for aesthetic perfection, this put considerable strain on NeXT's hardware division. Later, in 1993, NeXT was transitioned fully to software development with the release of NeXTSTEP/Intel. And under his guidance, the company reported a profit of $1.03 million in just a year.

Later when Apple bought NeXT in 1996, Jobs was back to the company that he co-founded. He became the CEO of the company after the-then CEO Gil Amelio was ousted. Apple was still running in loss and Jobs concentrated on Apple's efforts on returning to profitability. For this, he terminated a number of projects, such as Newton, Cyberdog and OpenDoc. He also changed the Macintosh clones licensing program making it too costly for the manufacturers to continue making machines. He had different vision for his Apple. He never followed what others did and did not become the "Me Too" typo. Rather, he trusted his thoughts and visions and followed them. Accordingly, he tweaked his business based upon the target market segment that he focused upon.

With what he created in NeXT, all found its way to Apple after its acquisition. And under Jobs guidance, the company increased the sales significantly with the introduction of the iMac and other few products. He had several innovative ideas, which he knew was much ahead of time. SO, he decided to either wait till the world was ready to accept it or change the perception of the world through which it sees his technology. He took the second approach and made his innovation a necessity for people. He made his technologies so handy that today it is one of the most important elements of our life.

He adapted appealing designs and powerful branding that worked for Apple. After that, the company subsequently branched out, introducing and improving upon other digital appliances. With the introduction of iPod, he changed the way the world used to view Apple. Further, the introduction of iTunes digital music software and the iTunes Store, the company forayed into consumer electronics and music distribution. Now, it became the part of every man's life.

He not only emphasized on innovation part of a product, but also always reminded his employees that real artistic ship, i.e., by delivering working products on time is as important as innovation and attractive design. Under his leadership, Apple entered the cellular phone business with the introduction of the iPhone that included the features of and iPod and had its own mobile browsing scene.

In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple due to ill health, but remained at the company as chairman of the board. But, he did not give up and strived hard to work on the success of Apple till two months before his death. He had great thoughts about the success of his company and so before leaving the company, he appointed the next CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, to take forward the company to the next level of success. A few hours after the announcement of his resignation, the shares of Apple dropped and also of The Walt Disney Company where he served as director. But, on 6th October, 2011, this great innovator adieu the world bewildering about the future of Apple and technology.