The recent announcement from Cupertino is certain to have a ripple effect across the whole industry, but quite what that effect is will not be immediately obvious.

Steve Jobs' return to Apple in 1997 brought sweeping changes to a company that was teetering on the verge of failure. Years of trading without a clear sense of direction, misuse of talent within the company and an inability to keep up with Microsoft in the early 90's had all but sealed the fate of the Cupertino company that Steve had created many years before. In fact it was Steve Jobs and Bill Gates who were the founders of the modern IT industry. Apple's first major step was contracting in Microsoft (at the time a software copany before the world really knew what a software company was) to produce a floating point basic that would become the beginnings of the Macintosh OS. For Bill Gates, this was his first contract.

Years later in 1997, Steve Jobs went back to Microsoft and even got Bill Gates to make an appearance on the big screen at an Apple keynote. Steve had abruptly reversed course, citing that the previous business strategy was based on Microsoft needing to lose. Something that clearly wasn't going to happen. The new strategy sought support from Microsoft, procuring the Redmond company's Office software for the Mac platform and seeking some investment to help keep Apple afloat. A bold move that at the time was met with skepticism but would prove to be the beginning of a new era for Apple. An era that would redifine not just a company, but a whole industry.

Steve Jobs was responsible for firing a lot of Apple employees he considered to be "dead wood", but he also recognised the talents of many staff that his predecessor had not. Including a junior engineer called Jonathan Ive. This would become instrumental in the rebranding of Apple. What soon followed was the iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad. The rest, as they say, is history. For years now, Apple has possibly been the driving force behind a lot of innovation in consumer electronics and computing. But how much of it is down to Steve Jobs?

This is something we simply don't know with 100% certainty, what we do know is that Steve Jobs started this ball rolling from day 1 of his return in 1997. Steve overhauled the Apple payroll, put the right people in the right places and his clear sense of direction for future products can't go unrecognised. But Apple is so much bigger than the sum of its parts. With so many talented individuals now at Apple, the company is clearly in good hands. Tim Cook has proven himself to be a superb COO for Apple, and during Steve Jobs medical leave has fulfilled the role of CEO very capably.

Steve Jobs resignation as CEO will be unlikely to have a significant effect to the day to day running of Apple. But one clear question remains, without Steve at the helm will the company lose a little edge? At this point in time, doubtful. Jobs is staying on to help with product strategy, but more than that a company needs to use talent properly to be successful. This is something Apple does superbly right now, and it's unlikely to change under Tim Cook. Maybe right now is the opportune time for Apple to see Steve Jobs step down from the CEO position.

But what about Jobs himself? What made him step down? It's extremely unlikely that he was forced in any way, so the decision will be entirely his. Of course his health could realistically be a factor. Something that was alluded to in his resignation letter but not explicitly stated. Whether his health is in any sudden state of decline isn't known, in fact it could even be unlikely. Think about it, why would Steve Jobs ignore his health to remain CEO? It's not in his interest, nor is it in Apple's interest. After all, it's better for the company as a whole to see Steve Jobs step down but still remain actively involved within the company rather than have to leave all together on medical grounds. This allows for a very steady period of transition the top of Apple, something which should appease the shareholders, employees and the tech world in general.

Maybe the only question that is important is the obvious one, is this the end of the Apple golden era? In the short term the answer is a resounding no, in the long term however only time will tell us. Apple is now a strong company, and Tim Cook is a strong leader. It's unlikely we will see the Cupertino cart come off the rails any time soon, if at all!