Aurora Mobile (JG) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / MBA Resources

Introduction to SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix for Aurora Mobile (United States)

Based on various researches at Oak Spring University , Aurora Mobile is operating in a macro-environment that has been destablized by – increasing household debt because of falling income levels, digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing transportation and logistics costs, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, there is backlash against globalization, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, etc

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Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Aurora Mobile

SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University, we believe that Aurora Mobile can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Aurora Mobile, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Aurora Mobile operates in.

According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.

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SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix

SWOT analysis of Aurora Mobile can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning of Aurora Mobile
2. Improving business portfolio management of Aurora Mobile
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in United States
4. Making a Software & Programming sector specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Aurora Mobile

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Strengths of Aurora Mobile | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The strengths of Aurora Mobile are -

Superior customer experience

– The customer experience strategy of Aurora Mobile in Software & Programming industry is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.

Learning organization

- Aurora Mobile is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Aurora Mobile is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders at Aurora Mobile emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.

Ability to recruit top talent

– Aurora Mobile is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming industry in United States. It is in a position to attract the best talent available in United States. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.

Sustainable margins compare to other players in Software & Programming industry

– Aurora Mobile has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Aurora Mobile to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Software & Programming industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Aurora Mobile to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Digital Transformation in Software & Programming industry

- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Aurora Mobile digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Aurora Mobile has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.

High brand equity

– Aurora Mobile has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Aurora Mobile to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.

Ability to lead change in Software & Programming

– Aurora Mobile is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming industry in United States. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in the Software & Programming industry in United States but also across the existing markets. The ability to lead change has enabled Aurora Mobile in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.

Analytics focus

– Aurora Mobile is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the Software & Programming industry. The technology infrastructure of United States is also helping it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.

Effective Research and Development (R&D)

– Aurora Mobile has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in – Aurora Mobile staying ahead in the Software & Programming industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.

Diverse revenue streams

– Aurora Mobile is present in almost all the verticals within the Software & Programming industry. This has provided Aurora Mobile a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.

Successful track record of launching new products

– Aurora Mobile has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Aurora Mobile has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.

Highly skilled collaborators

– Aurora Mobile has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive Software & Programming industry. Secondly the value chain collaborators of Aurora Mobile have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.

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Weaknesses of Aurora Mobile | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The weaknesses of Aurora Mobile are -

Slow to harness new channels of communication

– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Aurora Mobile is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication can help Aurora Mobile to provide better information regarding Software & Programming products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.

Slow to strategic competitive environment developments

– As Aurora Mobile is one of the leading players in the Software & Programming industry, it takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the Software & Programming industry in last five years.

High operating costs

– Compare to the competitors, Aurora Mobile has high operating costs in the Software & Programming industry. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Aurora Mobile lucrative customers.

Employees’ less understanding of Aurora Mobile strategy

– From the outside it seems that the employees of Aurora Mobile don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.

Interest costs

– Compare to the competition, Aurora Mobile has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.

High dependence on Aurora Mobile ‘s star products

– The top 2 products and services of Aurora Mobile still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in Software & Programming industry has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Aurora Mobile has relatively successful track record of launching new products.

Compensation and incentives

– The revenue per employee of Aurora Mobile is just above the Software & Programming industry average. It needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.

Aligning sales with marketing

– From the outside it seems that Aurora Mobile needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the Software & Programming industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department at Aurora Mobile can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Aurora Mobile is planning to shift buying processes online.

Low market penetration in new markets

– Outside its home market of United States, Aurora Mobile needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.

Increasing silos among functional specialists

– The organizational structure of Aurora Mobile is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Software & Programming industry, but Aurora Mobile needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Aurora Mobile to focus more on services in the Software & Programming industry rather than just following the product oriented approach.

Skills based hiring in Software & Programming industry

– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Aurora Mobile has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.

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Aurora Mobile Opportunities | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The opportunities of Aurora Mobile are -

Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains

– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Aurora Mobile can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help Aurora Mobile to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.

Better consumer reach

– The expansion of the 5G network will help Aurora Mobile to increase its market reach. Aurora Mobile will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.

Leveraging digital technologies

– Aurora Mobile can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.

Lowering marketing communication costs

– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Aurora Mobile in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Software & Programming industry, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.

Developing new processes and practices

– Aurora Mobile can develop new processes and procedures in Software & Programming industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.

Redefining models of collaboration and team work

– As explained in the weaknesses section, Aurora Mobile is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Aurora Mobile can utilize new technology in the field of Software & Programming industry to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.

Increase in government spending

– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Aurora Mobile can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Aurora Mobile operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Software & Programming sector.

Identify volunteer opportunities

– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Aurora Mobile can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.

Buying journey improvements

– Aurora Mobile can improve the customer journey of consumers in the Software & Programming industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. It can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.

Reforming the budgeting process

- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects Aurora Mobile can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.

Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities

– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Aurora Mobile to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Aurora Mobile to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.

Finding new ways to collaborate

– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Software & Programming industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Aurora Mobile can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.

Manufacturing automation

– Aurora Mobile can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Software & Programming sector. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.

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Threats Aurora Mobile External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis

The threats of Aurora Mobile are -

Easy access to finance

– Easy access to finance in Software & Programming industry will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Aurora Mobile can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.

Consumer confidence and its impact on Aurora Mobile demand

– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in Software & Programming industry and other sectors.

Aging population

– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.

Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution

– Aurora Mobile has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Software & Programming industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Aurora Mobile needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Software & Programming sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.

Environmental challenges

– Aurora Mobile needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Aurora Mobile can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Software & Programming industry.

Learning curve for new practices

– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, Aurora Mobile may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Software & Programming sector.

Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc

– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.

High dependence on third party suppliers

– Aurora Mobile high dependence on third party suppliers can disrupt its processes and delivery mechanism. For example -the current troubles of car makers because of chip shortage is because the chip companies started producing chips for electronic companies rather than car manufacturers.

Backlash against dominant players

– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Aurora Mobile business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.

New competition

– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Aurora Mobile in the Software & Programming sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.

Stagnating economy with rate increase

– Aurora Mobile can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the Software & Programming industry.

Shortening product life cycle

– it is one of the major threat that Aurora Mobile is facing in Software & Programming sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.

Trade war between China and United States

– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Aurora Mobile in Software & Programming industry. The Software & Programming industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.

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Weighted SWOT Analysis of Aurora Mobile Template, Example

Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers at Aurora Mobile needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants. We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –

First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of Aurora Mobile is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.

Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of Aurora Mobile is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.

Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Aurora Mobile to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Aurora Mobile needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

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