"Life After Steve Jobs"

The History Channel has a great series called "Life Afterwards People," which imagines the fate of the earth afterwards an apocalyptic end to humans. As a research analyst, Steve Jobs' January 17th announcement of an indefinite medical leave got me imagining the unthinkable -- what if Steve Jobs did not return?

For those who love tech, the thought of a Job-less Apple is about as apocalyptic a scenario as one can imagine -- like as not second only to the end of life on earth as we know it.

Admittedly, Mr. Jobs isn't as a matter of fact known for being an early adopter of research. When all is said and done, the iPod and iPhone came along well afterwards similar products had already been created in the market. Nevertheless what Jobs does do in fact well is to identify a need in the market and figure out how to fill that need in the most spectacular way. He seems to understand and relate to consumers after a fashion that few other executives are able to do. He's as well the king of product timing.

The world's most cherished brands

Apple is one of the world's most cherished brands. Currently, it's the second most valuable company with respect to market cap, then and there to Exxon. Nevertheless a great deal of that brand equity is based on the personality and showmanship of Steve Jobs. Without Steve Jobs, Apple, as great at this stage, is just another consumer products company in the tech market -- like Microsoft, Dell, HP. From an operations standpoint, the company would stay on track thanks to the excellent management of Tim Cook; yet the magic would be gone.

As it is in every way plausible that Steve Jobs might have to end his reign at Apple due to health reasons, here are some forward-looking and very speculative thoughts about what might happen at a post-Jobs Apple:

Tim Cook is however Apple's CEO. Little has changed outwardly with the company. Apple's product pipeline remains intact. The iPad 2 and a new 4G version of the iPhone rollout as expected. Both products are huge sellers. Revenues remain high for the company. Nevertheless rumors of executive poaching from tech rivals build. Silicon Alley Insider does its own spotlight on Apple executives most likely to leave.

Apple's corporate hierarchy begins to change. Tim Cook proves himself to be a tremendous chief executive for the company. Now, together, analysts notice a stronger public face for Apple's other key executives who oversee its various product channels. Nicknames like "iPhone CEO," "Mac CEO," etc. begin to be bantered about in the research media.

Cisco and Microsoft begin stealing from the Apple talent pool. Cisco is particularly aggressive as it seeks to expand into the pro-sumer electronics industry with tablets, smartphones and other devices.

Consumers show less deference for Apple products. Though its devices nevertheless enjoy a cult-like following, market watchers see a drop in consumer loyalty and interest.

Internally, the company begins to acknowledge that it is losing that "special status" with consumers and the media it once enjoyed in accordance with Steve Jobs. Tim Cook directs the product design teams to develop lower-end, cheaper versions of the iPhone and Macbooks to broaden its appeal to consumers. He as well makes the iPhone available on all four US carrier networks. The new approach pays off in the short-term, as the iPhone gains ground against Google's Android devices.

Apple announces it will taking everything into account start participating in research industry events - ending the company's special market status it enjoyed pursuant to this agreement Jobs' tenure.

Five Years Afterwards Jobs: Apple is in the midst of an aggressive pro-sumer campaign, and begins unveiling a variety of enterprise-specific devices, particularly centered around VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) calling and traditional desktop computing. Another key element is cloud-based network services.

The world's best developers of consumer

Apple is however regarded as one of the world's best developers of consumer and enterprise research products, now companies like Google and Facebook are more relevant to the average user because they offer products, content and networks. In accordance with Tim Cook's leadership, the company has as well focused more heavily on scaling its consumer products from low- to high-end and adding in a broad array of enterprise-friendly products and services. As a result, Apple did not invest enough resources into its development of a smart TV platform, which causes it to lose competitive advantage with Google and Facebook.