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29 August 2011
Lets move beyond the "Steve Jobs is no longer head of Apple" angle and into the near future where a company culture etched in stone by the man himself continues to carry on in the manner he has taught them and continues to dominate the product areas they enter.
Apple excels at a simple formula: Introduce a cool product, dominate/own/leverage the supply chain, establish a market position advantage, maintain that leadership position... rinse and repeat.
Its a formula that will play out over and over again, but this time it will be exercised well beyond the boundaries of consumer electronics and multi media, because Apple's next huge hit/cool product/game changing device will be an entire building.
Yes I'm talking about the future Apple HQ/Temple Steve/SpaceShip campus. Its the next "product" that Apple will leverage to dominate. Its likely what Steve Jobs will spend his remaining years guiding to fruition. Its a massive space-ship sized treasure trove of opportunity for Apple to innovate, introduce, leverage and learn how to get into our lives beyond our telephones.
If you think I'm completely off my nut you might want to watch the video below where Steve introduces the new HQ project to the Cupertino City Council. Pay close attention to the parts where he talks about glass, and how Apple has the most advanced glass technological capabilities in the world.
Steve also talks about the environment a lot in this presentation. As a details guy there is no doubt Apple is going to become experts in power management (solar??). Heating, cooling, lighting... lighting?
Ambiance, the mood, the feeling, the health benefits... my guess is Steve will be paying extra special attention to things like lighting. LED lighting perhaps? Our friends over at Bask are showing just how innovative that area can be in your life. Apple will want control over the environment in the work space and programmable lighting might be just the ticket.
Materials... beyond the already massive industry of glass, imagine what other materials Apple will learn to dominate.
I also propose that Steve's vision of an office is a lot less like... well ... an office, and more like a home. Computers and the internet have caused these 2 worlds to blend and blur in the online world. My guess is that's Steve's temple will do the same for the real world, for the comfort of his employees but also for the understanding of the home life and how that will help Apple dominate our homes from a business perspective in the future.
Apple home automation, home entertainment, power management plans, its not difficult to imagine Apple as the Martha Stuart of home management and style.
Is Apple becoming an even more dominant player in more areas of our life a good thing or a bad thing? I'll leave that for the fan boyz in various camps to duke it out... but I would only say, that means we'll have to pay even more attention that ever to Apple's moves. If almost feels like we're moving from a nation state to a corporate state, and as we vote with our dollars, hearts and minds we need to remain vigilant no matter who runs the show.
