Apple Inc.: Market Analysis & Competition - Research Paper Example

 APPLE INC - iDESK: MARKET ANALYSIS & COMPETITION [Insert [Insert This paper covers a brief yet comprehensive industry analysis of the market of iDesk – an invent product of Apple Incorporation. IDesk can be called the larger version of iPad. The target market of iDesk is set to be all Post-Secondary education institutions with faculty of Arts and Design and all the decision makers associated with making the purchase and installation of iDesks in classrooms for these institutions. Preferably, the Deans of respective faculties would be considered the audience who can actually be contacted.

Apart from this, the industry’s competitiveness will also be gauged according to Porter’s Five Forces Model for competition. Major competitors of the market will also be identifies along with a brief explanation of their strengths and weaknesses and current market share. 1. Market Analysis According to Canada Art School.com, there are around fifteen institutes of Arts and Design operative in the province of British Columbia. According to the financial statements of major Post-Secondary education institutes, the universities spend in hundreds of millions of dollars in acquiring capital assets for the university.

This number will inevitably include all the investment on the infrastructure therefore, it may be difficult to gauge as to how much each institution will be willing to spend on acquiring iDesks for the students. The size of the industry can therefore be estimated to $2 billion. This figure is an estimate based on a proportion of the universities’ investment on its capital. iDesk, being a new product will be at its introductory stage after its launch. This will leave immense opportunity for the brand to grow in the industry.

Also, the financial statements of all the universities show an increase in the investment on the capital and infrastructure therefore, the market is in its growing phase and presents a good opportunity to iDesk to market itself. 2. Competitive Analysis Major competitors of iDesk will be Microsoft Surface, Panasonic with their touch screen table, Linux with their MPX multi-touch support, Pioner with WWS-DT 101, MultiTouch, Ideum’s MT2 and Sony actrac Table. The major chunk of the market is held by Microsoft Surface with a massive share of about 80%.

As it has the first mover advantage in the industry, it holds a major share in the market. All the other brands which have been launched so far after Microsoft Surface, have somewhat new added features. However with its strong brand image, Microsoft remains the market leader. 2.1. Porter’s Five Forces Model The industry does not seem to be competitive enough as there are less players in the market. The barriers to entry in the market are high as the companies need strong technological backing.

Besides this, the suppliers in this industry will have bargaining power as the production on these hi-tech products require specialized parts which only specific suppliers may provide. The bargaining power of the customers is also limited because of availability of less substitutes in the market. All in all, there is a strong potential for iDesk to market itself in the Universities of British Columbia as the universities tend to invest in its capital infrastructure consistently. References Gottabemobile.com (2008).

Linux Competition on the Microsoft Surface Front? Online. Available at: http://www.gottabemobile.com/2007/07/16/linux-competition-on-the-microsoft-surface-front/ Andersen, S. (2011). Pioneer Brings Out A Microsoft Surface Competitor In The WWS-DT101 Table [Pioneer's Table Is Essentially A Mounted 52 Inch Flatscreen Table On Par With Microsoft's Surface]. nexus404.com. Online. Available at: http://nexus404.com/Blog/2011/05/11/pioneer-brings-microsoft-surface/ Digitalsignagetoday.com (2008). Microsoft Surface Competitor Emerges. Online. Available at: http://www.

digitalsignagetoday.com/article/163108/Microsoft-Surface-competitor-emerges Aboutprojectors.com (2009). Ideum MT2 Multitouch Table Becomes Microsoft Surface’s Competition. Online. Available at: http://www.aboutprojectors.com/news/2009/02/05/ideum-mt2-multitouch-table-becomes-microsoft-surfaces-competition/ Canadaartschool.com. British Columbia Art Schools. Online. Available at: http://www.canadaartschools.com/bc-art-schools.php