1. mas_quemex's Avatar
    Operating system software vendor business model is wonky and crunching but sustainable over generations.

    IBM Earnings ($m)
    1920 : 2
    1930 : 7
    1940 : 9
    1950 : 37
    1960 : 210
    1970 : 1,000
    1980 : 3,400
    1990 : 6,000
    2000 : 8,100
    2010 : 15,000
    2015 : 13,000

    Apple Earnings ($m)
    1979 : 25
    1990 : 470
    2000 : 790
    2010 : 14,000
    2015 : 46,000

    Microsoft Earnings ($m)
    1980 : 2
    1990 : 300
    2000 : 7,300
    2010 : 23,000
    2016 : 17,000

    Oracle Earnings ($m)
    1981 : 0.6
    1990 : 80
    2000 : 2,600
    2010 : 8,500
    2015 : 8,900

    BlackBerry Earnings ($m)
    1999 : 10
    2010 : 3,400
    2015 : (210)

    Amazon Earnings ($m)
    2000 : (1,400)
    2010 : 1,200
    2015 : 600

    Alphabet Earnings ($m)
    2001 : 7
    2010 : 8,500
    2016 : 16,000

    It means BB is not finished.
    Last edited by mas_quemex; 11-30-16 at 02:34 PM.
    11-30-16 12:27 PM
  2. Dunt Dunt Dunt's Avatar
    Went to a lot of work.... for nothing.

    If you want to show OS earnings, you need the earning that an OS brings in for each of those companies. Looking at that list, I would say that the OS is pretty much a loss leader that drives other revenue streams that those very large companies have.

    BB is not finished, but neither is there a future for them as a "general" software company that does their own custom OS for consumer products. QNX will be the closest that most of use will come to a BlackBerry solution, and that will be covered up by someone else's skin.
    11-30-16 01:09 PM
  3. TGR1's Avatar
    1) Apple and Alphabet run sustainable OS
    2) BBRY runs an OS
    3) BBRY is a sustainable OS vendor

    That is known as a syllogism. IOW it isn't only or even mainly the OS that is driving all those companies' successes.
    Dunt Dunt Dunt likes this.
    12-01-16 07:10 AM
  4. glwerry's Avatar
    Sorry, you're comparing apples and oranges.
    IBM did not get into computers until approximately 1950: even at that computers did not dominate their revenue stream until probably (I am guessing) the mid 1960s or perhaps beyond. Also, they leased for years - you were paying for the hardware, the software, the maintenance engineers - all as a lump sum.

    Additionally, the value / cost of hardware was greater than the cost of software for a long time. I am not qualified to give you a point at which software started being more valuable than hardware.
    Mind you, in the case of Apple, one could argue that they are still making the majority of their money off of the HARDWARE - after all, one purchases a piece of Apple HARDWARE and the software is just an accessory. There is no maintenance charge for the software, and I don't believe that anyone runs out to purchase a new Apple OS, unless you can do that for the Mac.
    mas_quemex likes this.
    12-01-16 11:31 AM
  5. StephanieMaks's Avatar
    There is no maintenance charge for the software, and I don't believe that anyone runs out to purchase a new Apple OS, unless you can do that for the Mac.
    Apple used to sell their Mac OS X upgrades. I have a few retail boxes from 10.4 / 10.5 / 10.6 but IIRC around 10.7 they stopped selling the OS and made all OS upgrades free.

    Of course, you can only (lawfully) install their OS on their hardware, so I'd say you are correct -- they sell the hardware and you get the software for free.
    12-20-16 06:18 PM

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