Apple Named the Most Advanced Tech Company

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IBM may be innovating up a storm with blockchain and Microsoft is going full steam ahead on artificial intelligence, but it’s Apple that’s considered the most technologically advanced by the world’s technology professionals.

A recent Decision Analyst survey involving over 1,000 respondents found that Apple ranked first (46,9 percent), followed by Microsoft (40.4 percent) and Samsung (36.9 percent). Google and its parent company Alphabet took fourth place (34.2 percent) and chipmaking giant Intel came in fifth (24.4 percent).

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Jerry W. Thomas, president and CEO of Decision Analyst, said Apple is so esteemed because the Cupertino, Calif.-based device maker “is a great example of the power of consistent positioning and consistent execution of a strategy based on technically superior products, innovative design, high-quality manufacturing, premium pricing, and consistent advertising of its strategic positioning story.”

Beyond its iconic devices like the iPhone and Mac, the company adheres to an exacting and forward-looking product strategy that other companies may want to emulate, added Thomas.

“Apple demonstrates the power of strategy, long-term thinking and planning, careful and thoughtful research, consistent execution, and consistent marketing. Through ups and downs, Apple has never blinked or taken its eye off of the long-term goal,” he said. “This stands in stark contrast to the short-term focus and short-term thinking that characterizes most large U.S. corporations.”

While they didn’t land in the top five, other tech titans ranked fairly high.

Amazon, a leader in cloud computing and ecommerce, placed sixth (22.3) just behind Intel. IBM, Facebook and Cisco, took the number eight, nine and ten spots, respectively. The 15th and 16th slots went to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Oracle while Dell, now home to EMC’s enterprise data storage portfolio, was ranked 19th.

Delving deeper into the list illustrates how some former industry bellwethers have lost their luster over the years.

Yahoo, now a Verizon property, is buried in 39th place. BlackBerry, the former posterchild of mobile productivity, is in 60th place. Nortel ranked dead last, along with Verisign, each will zero percent of the vote.

The full list is available here.

Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at Datamation. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.