“Let me hold off on my enterprise’s mobile initiative while Microsoft takes a few more years to nail a (possible Nokia) good mobile device down” Said no one ever.
We are at a time where iPads and Android tablets rule in the enterprise ecosystem.It was Microsoft’s mobile market share to lose and they lost it. Now yes, I agree Microsoft wasn’t ever known as a hardware company but maybe this Nokia deal will change that.
So we have a company that has 3 huge keys to mobile adoption success:
- Near monopoly on enterprise OS.
- The innovative vision of one app for all devices. (ex. Home’s desktop & tablet plus your work laptop & cell all running Excel, not three mobile apps that access Excel. What Google Apps is doing now)
- Loads and loads of cold hard cash. (We are talking “cure Malaria” cash)
So lets say you are a successful modern enterprise, hospital or large fleet (etc) who rolled out mobile tablets on one of the big two mobile Operating Systems. We are talking with custom developed enterprise tablet apps, MDM/Security Policies, secure data storage solutions and have gotten great adoption with the employees. Now Q1 2015, Microsoft’s 8th tablet attempt finally strikes gold. Even if the new “Surface6.0” is cheaper, has twice the battery power, more secure and produced a $5 Starbucks card every month – no one will chuck 500 iPads in the garbage and their one off developed enterprise app with it. Would it be enough to dethrone current mobile ecosystem in place? I doubt it.
So I wish you the best of luck Bill and Satya, but maybe skip 7-10 inch market? Why not go all in with the 12 inch to 65 inch devices. Or double down in the wearables space. Though again your lack of current hardware innovation will still make it tough to break out.
My tinfoil hat prediction: The new mobile Windows will use all or parts of Android. Which will help them keep market share against an upcoming Samsung Tizen attack on Android’s mobile adoption.
-Daniel DiMassa [Twitter] [G+] [Enterprise Apps]
