Horace Dediu, one of the smarter independent analysts out there in my opinion, wrote a well articulated piece shedding light on how we should understand industry disruption. For those of us who study this industry it is a good read especially toward the end where he articulates in what ways Apple has been and is continuing to disrupt the industry.
Disruption isn’t just about disrupting price nor does it only happen at the low end. This paragraph stuck out to me the most:
The disruption of mobile phones that Apple has foisted on the world through iOS has caused it to reach a point where it dwarves the values of other companies, not just in the sectors it competes, but in all sectors. Some suggest that Apple is an anomaly and does not reflect the economy. To truly understand the state of the economy, they say, means to subtract Apple from it. But I feel this is exactly wrong. Apple is, through the iPhone and iOS ecosystems, defining this era. Just like Microsoft defined an era of increased productivity through the creation of the “knowledge worker”, or like GM re-defined transportation and the notion of the brand in the 50′s, or like IBM re-defined business process efficiency with automation in the 60′s and 70′s, these companies were not anomalies of their era. They were the eras. They were the locomotives of growth that taught other companies how to operate and the contemporary managers how to manage.
Read the whole article here, I highly recommend it.
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