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I don't see Apple achieving hyper-growth and becoming a $10 trillion company, but they have a solid business selling high-end hardware to people willing to pay

I don't see Apple achieving hyper-growth and becoming a $10 trillion company, but they have a solid business selling high-end hardware to people willing to pay for it with money instead of data. What does Oracle have on the horizon? Legacy enterprise support and lawsuits about Java?

mandeepj 8y ago
> What does Oracle have on the horizon? They could become a good force in the cloud after netsuite purchase. https://cloud.oracle.com/home https://cloud.oracle.com/home
- ddebernardy 8y ago
  They could keep trying, I suppose. FWIW they've been in the cloud business since the 2000s. They and IBM were some of the few who were in that business early, and even then their respective reputations preceded them. (This was before XEN, widespread adoption of virtualization, and a slew of other DC techs that democratized using the cloud.) I would imagine they both got enough fortune-whatever companies onboard to earn good money, but neither are market leaders today. Just spitballing, but I'd assume their cloud customers are all companies who buy other stuff from them.
  - amacbride 8y ago
    Exactly. With the hostile takeover of PeopleSoft, Oracle bought themselves a number of huge customers who are disinclined to change ERP systems on anything other than decade-long timelines. It has evolved and is now cloud...ish, so they can certainly talk themselves into being perceived as a “leader.” (Even though they’re not really cloud-native in the way that Workday, Salesforce, or others are.)
askafriend 8y ago
If Apple strengthens their foothold in Health and Health related services/integrations, their marketcap will multiply from where it is now.
- TheOtherHobbes 8y ago
  I honestly can't see Apple making this work. Health is a diverse, messy, market. Apple's schtick has always been making devices that make computing magical, and health would be a huge shift away from that. IMO the market is really looking for a a powerful all-in-one diagnostic health appliance - something like the analyser Theranos was pitching for, but which actually works, and is more comprehensive. De-industrialising health and making the personal equivalent of a diagnostic lab that could keep track of key markers, watch nutrition, exercise, and supplements, and transfer information to doctors - AI or human - would be a major breakthrough. But the technology for that doesn't exist yet. And even it becomes available it may not be affordable or portable. And because bodily fluids are involved it conflicts with the Apple image of clean minimalism. That leaves health as set of tentative fragmented tools and services which provide reassurance here and there - like the fall notification in Watch - but are a long way short of a comprehensive service. The fitness market is a more obvious choice. But if you look at Apple's record, it's not inspiring. Fitbit is a strong competitor, because Watch hasn't lived up to its potential - possibly because Apple can't decide if Watch should be a fashion statement or a personal fitness device. It doesn't really make sense to consumers to try to sell it as both. Behind all of that, I just can't see the current management team having the skill or imagination to make it happen. I think health is going to remain a side interest - a nice add-on, but not a huge new core market that Apple can expand into.

mandeepj 8y ago

> What does Oracle have on the horizon? They could become a good force in the cloud after netsuite purchase. https://cloud.oracle.com/home https://cloud.oracle.com/home

ddebernardy 8y ago
They could keep trying, I suppose. FWIW they've been in the cloud business since the 2000s. They and IBM were some of the few who were in that business early, and even then their respective reputations preceded them. (This was before XEN, widespread adoption of virtualization, and a slew of other DC techs that democratized using the cloud.) I would imagine they both got enough fortune-whatever companies onboard to earn good money, but neither are market leaders today. Just spitballing, but I'd assume their cloud customers are all companies who buy other stuff from them.
- amacbride 8y ago
  Exactly. With the hostile takeover of PeopleSoft, Oracle bought themselves a number of huge customers who are disinclined to change ERP systems on anything other than decade-long timelines. It has evolved and is now cloud...ish, so they can certainly talk themselves into being perceived as a “leader.” (Even though they’re not really cloud-native in the way that Workday, Salesforce, or others are.)

askafriend 8y ago

If Apple strengthens their foothold in Health and Health related services/integrations, their marketcap will multiply from where it is now.

TheOtherHobbes 8y ago
I honestly can't see Apple making this work. Health is a diverse, messy, market. Apple's schtick has always been making devices that make computing magical, and health would be a huge shift away from that. IMO the market is really looking for a a powerful all-in-one diagnostic health appliance - something like the analyser Theranos was pitching for, but which actually works, and is more comprehensive. De-industrialising health and making the personal equivalent of a diagnostic lab that could keep track of key markers, watch nutrition, exercise, and supplements, and transfer information to doctors - AI or human - would be a major breakthrough. But the technology for that doesn't exist yet. And even it becomes available it may not be affordable or portable. And because bodily fluids are involved it conflicts with the Apple image of clean minimalism. That leaves health as set of tentative fragmented tools and services which provide reassurance here and there - like the fall notification in Watch - but are a long way short of a comprehensive service. The fitness market is a more obvious choice. But if you look at Apple's record, it's not inspiring. Fitbit is a strong competitor, because Watch hasn't lived up to its potential - possibly because Apple can't decide if Watch should be a fashion statement or a personal fitness device. It doesn't really make sense to consumers to try to sell it as both. Behind all of that, I just can't see the current management team having the skill or imagination to make it happen. I think health is going to remain a side interest - a nice add-on, but not a huge new core market that Apple can expand into.