Internet,Marketing,News,Apple, marketing Internet Marketing News: Apple Surpasses MS

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Coming as a surprise to even the most ardent Apple fans andsupporters, on May 26, 2010, Apple officially became a higher valued companythan Microsoft.At the close of the day, Wall Street had valued Apple at $220billion, verse a valuation of $219 billion for Microsoft.While Microsoft doeshave much stronger revenues ($58 billion vs.just shy of $43 billion for Apple),this only makes the closing numbers even more interesting.Much of the valueplaced on stocks hinges on how the company is expected to perform in thefuture, clearly the feeling on Wall Street is that Apple will enjoy a brighterfuture than that of Microsoft.Obviously, this news is of great interest toInternet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization specialists, as the shift maycreate new opportunities and introduce different methods and strategies totheir processes.However, in this article we will examine how Apple overcameMicrosoft, and what it will take for them to remain in the lead.Aftersurpassing Microsoft, Apple has now become the second most valuable company inthe western hemisphere, behind only Exxon ($278 billion).Obviously this growthon behalf of Apple has much to do with the success of its hardware, as itscomputers, phones and devices have become household objects and must ownproducts for people across the globe.However, they also have some veryprofitable software suites their loyal customers can be counted on to keepmoving off store shelves.Despite this software success, they have not been ableto make much of a dent in the Operating System wars, as their install base hasremained relatively flat over the last few years.While they make money fromsoftware, they are making history with their hardware.Microsoft can almost beviewed as a polar opposite of Apple.Making most of their money off software,Microsoft has long supplied the vast majority of Operating Systems to thecomputers of the world.They also enjoy huge sales from their Office productsand many other software suites.Where Apple has seen limited success withsoftware, Microsoft has suffered the same fate with their hardware experiments.Theirgame consoles are constantly losing them cash (though they make up for thiswith profitable game software), and their hardware such as the Zune and theirtablet computers have failed to catch on in the marketplace.Additionally, theyhave made some poor investments (purchasing tragically underperforming gamedeveloper Rare for a staggering $375 million), and are hit with multiplehundreds of millions of dollars in fines and legal fees every year.Still, noneof this has stopped them from being the second most successful business in thecountry, until now. Apple has earned their lead through constant innovation,both with product designs and functionality.When the iPod launched, there werealready dozens of other mp3 player solutions on the market.Apples productbecame the standard due to its clever design, large capacity and the support ofthe iTunes platform.The iPhone has earned its popularity on the strength of itsdesign, functionality and support of the app store.The common thread in thesetwo success stories is the supportive environment Apple launches its productsinto, and the constant tweaking and improving these products receive.If Applecan continue to put out quality products, back them with impeccableinfrastructure and keep a steady stream of upgraded versions available to itscustomers, there is no reason their dominance should end anytime soon.They dohave to be on the lookout for a few things, however.First, you can never countMicrosoft out.The folks at Redmond could, any day, surprise the world with anew product announcement.Also, while their hardware offerings have been lessthan stellar thus far, this does not mean that the trend will continue in thefuture.They got where they are by being aware of their competition, andoutdoing them.In short, they will not take this lying down.Secondly, Apple mustbe careful to not alienate its customers.Many Apple buyers are hit with intensewaves of buyers remorse when a purchased product receives an upgrade shortlyafter they acquire it, leaving them with a brand new, yet outdated piece ofhardware.Even as the iPad was in the pre-release stage, its noticeable lack offeatures showed consumers that Apple was no longer truly innovating, butholding back features strictly to roll them out in future product iterations.Finally,there is the possibility that, in trying to conquer all types of media (TV,music, hardware, computers, devices, etc) they will spread themselves too thin.Asimilar situation was already seen with their Apple TV line which, when it didnot launch to an enthusiastic reception, seemed to drop down on their prioritylist, leaving customers disappointed at the lack of follow through their devicereceived.With that said, as long as Apple can keep a solid perspective, remainalert and stay the innovation course they have ridden to this point, there isno reason why their lead over Microsoft cannot continue well into the future. 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