Apple CEO Steve Jobs has resigned, but Apple will remain a considerable force in the tech world for some time to come, according to analysts.
Apple CEO
Steve Jobs' resignation has sparked off a not-unexpected flurry of analysis and
commentary from across the technology industry.
In a letter to
Apple's board of directors and employees, Jobs suggested he could "no longer
meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO." He asked the board to activate
a prearranged succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO-a familiar role for the
latter, considering he's stepped in as interim chief whenever Jobs'
longstanding health issues drove him to take medical leave.
Combined with
Google's acquisition of Motorola and Hewlett-Packard's decision to radically
realign its business, Jobs' decision to relinquish the CEO reins makes this one
of the most roller-coaster months for the tech industry in recent memory. But
analysts seem to think Apple will weather this current situation.
"Apple's
product development road map stretches into multiple years ahead and has been
shaped both by Jobs and by the organization he built," Forrester analyst JP
Gownder wrote in an
Aug. 24 corporate blog posting. "Jobs' departure
won't affect Apple's product portfolio, quality or competitiveness for a long
time-if ever."
He also
suggested that Apple's combined talent outweighs the possible impact of its
leader's permanent departure: "While Steve Jobs will go down in eventual
history as an outstanding innovator, leader and world-changer, Apple is
actually much more than its leader alone."
Other analysts
echoed that point.
"Apple has
been run by a team of very accomplished visionaries that includes Tim Cook,
Phil Schiller, Jonathan Ive, Scott Forestal, Ron Johnson and a host of others,"
Carl Howe, an analyst with the Yankee Group, wrote in an
Aug. 25 blog posting. "Steve was [the] public
face of the company, but we shouldn't think that he was the only one making all
the decisions."
Indeed, Apple
is widely expected to release its next-generation iPhone (widely dubbed the
"iPhone 5" by the media) in either September or October, following that with
the next iPad sometime in early 2012. In the short term, that one-two punch of
product releases could convince skittish investors that Apple indeed remains on
track. The company retains considerable market share in the smartphone and
tablet segments.
"Mr. Cook is ...
universally regarded as a strong leader and supply chain expert, and we believe
he is well suited to lead Apple to significant growth over the next few years,"
T. Michael Walkley, analyst with Canaccord Genuity, wrote in a co-authored
research note Aug. 24. "Further, we believe Apple has a deep and talented executive
team in the areas of supply chain management, hardware/software design, and
product marketing."
Cook himself
apparently issued a note to Apple employees, assuring them of business as usual
in the days ahead.
"I want you to
be confident that Apple is not going to change," the newly minted CEO wrote in
an email to Apple employees, quickly reprinted on Apple-centric blogs such as
9to5Mac. "Steve built a company and culture that
is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that-it is in
our DNA."
His email also
suggested that Jobs will continue in a more advisory capacity: "We are really
looking forward to Steve's ongoing guidance and inspiration as our Chairman."
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