Op-ed: Jobs steps down from Apple, what now?

For health reasons, the moment has arrived for Steve Jobs to retire from Apple's front lines. Can the company without the inspiring genius who has carried them through tough markets? It is time for the company to reach its corporate maturity.

A talented team will continue running Apple, and the newly appointed CEO Tim Crook already has experience from when he had to take the reins twice before. Responsible for creating a very efficient outsourcing network, it is likely that Crook's biggest challenge now will be to distinguish between myriad possible plans for the future. While Jobs will still offer help from the sidelines, Crook should determine in what areas he can be a productive leader.

Typically, Apple takes an existing device (such as an MP3 player) and improves its usability, gives it a touch of chic and creates a line of auxiliary products around the device. Sometimes, it develops an entirely new idea (such as the tablet computer) and forces its competitors to reinvent themselves as well. The dual strategy allows them to keep their margins high. Apple should be careful not to lose their margins as the competition begins to copy their devices and offer them at lower price points.

In other words, they should keep distinguishing themselves for the long run by launching new products with quality and designs that protect their brand, because a lot of companies (Samsung Galaxy, Blackberry, Google and Motorola, Microsoft with Nokia) are grouping together and reorganizing their business model to take a bite out of an apple that is well-ripened fruit.