- Post Link: http://thinkfixed.com/?p=427
How Apple shares with Windows
Anathema? Hardly. Let’s be brutally honest, Apple does a ton of things really really well (iPhone) and some things not so well (email). And before anyone gets worked up about it, let’s realize thats just the way it is in every ecosystem. The car metaphor is overused but appropriate here: There are functions that some cars are built for that a competitor may just not care to compete against but still make a good vehicle.
So what are these things Windows does better than Mac? By Apple’s own admission through canceling the venerable Xserve, the first that comes to mind is the server based management of businesses. It also happens to be the pool we swim in most. Yes, Apple makes server software and you know what? Its great for really small companies. But once the needs of that business eclipse what comes on that $49 software package, theres little room to scale. For its part, this is one of the things Windows does better than anyone else. Does it pain a bunch of Mac guys to admit that? Not anymore, but it used to. Because here’s the deal: it also works great with Mac OS X. Plus nobody outside of an administrator needs to see how ugly it is. Looks don’t count when you’re trying to make ends meet.
Email. Microsoft Exchange is simply the industry standard, and while it’s true some of the functionality is lost on Mac OS X, and some of it doesn’t work if you’re not up to date, its a rock solid product. So much so that Apple has built in Exchange compatibility right into the Mail application that comes on your new Mac. Its a pretty cool marriage.
In all, it’s our opinion that the burger wars are over and we can all get back to work now, with apologies to the armies of home and single users who make up the bulk of Apple’s devoted customers. You guys have it better than anyone ever has with the ecosystem of the Apple Stores and AppleCare. There’s a clear winner there.
Businesses however don’t have the luxury of managing only one or two users. They tend to be more concerned about whether or not their tech and security standards are upheld and enforced, or in protecting their investment from bad things that happen either on accident or maliciously. For that we need to live platform-agnostic.
I think both Apple and Microsoft realize this.
Nice segway.