As some of you know, I’ve been pretty vocal about how Apple shouldn’t cater to the Enterprise. But when Apple decided to add a whole bunch of Enterprise friendly feature in iPhone OS 2, I decided to stay quiet on the topic (and we’ve been busy) – even though I still thought they shouldn’t go for the Enterprise.
Now Al Shipp (SVP of Enterprise Sales) is retiring from Apple and he is not be replaced. This is not bad, this is good actually.
Apple doesn’t need a replacement for Al, because users, who want Apple product and most times are willing to pay for them out of their own pocket, are making Enterprise IT conform – rather than the other way around.
People lament that Apple has always struggled to get into the Enterprise, but the fact is, I don’t think they want to go there (perhaps it’s low hanging fruit for resellers). Apple is not an Enterprise company and it shouldn’t be. Apple is an innovator, a transformer, a fast mover. The Enterprise on the other hand (at least the IT part) is a laggard, a dinosaur.
Macworld’s John Welch says it best and John Gruber highlights:
“Here’s the simple truth: Enterprise hates surprises. It’s not what they want. Enterprise wants predictability. They want to know when, what, how much, and that it will be all new and cool, yet change nothing. (Yes that’s contradictory. Have you ever tried to use “Enterprise Software?” Winning usability awards is so not happening there.) And they want to know everything in detail a year ahead of time. Can anyone seriously imagine how long Apple would survive under that model? Right, not long.”
Let’s just remember, let Microsoft take the Enterprise, let Apple take the rest of the World.
Humanity needs innovation and thankfully Apple is happy to comply.
Until next time…
AJ
