Microsoft vs. Apple, Post Gates and Jobs: Which Survives Until 2020?
Who Survives? Neither company survives, if we tie survival to the lack of significant change. The market is changing at an unprecedented rate and both companies will have to adjust to the realities of the future. But in an absolute sense, much like Apple can benefit much more from one or two hit products than Microsoft, so too can they more likely be killed by one or two failures. Microsoft s complexity makes it harder for them to broadly succeed and fail because the complexity is both an impediment to growth and a protection against absolute failure. However, as far as being at a peak as opposed to a shadow of their former greatness, both firms are exposed. Apple is too tied to their CEO right now and Microsoft, like IBM who preceded them, seems unable to compete as a company (more often defined by infighting, internal politics, and executive posturing). And it has a number of divisions that are a drag on the firm s financial performance.
