Windows 7 Release May Put the Brakes on Apple Enterprise Growth
Windows 7 Release May Put the Brakes on Apple Enterprise Growth
Apple announced its quarterly financial data July 21 and, once again, the
Mac and iPod maker is performing extremely well.
According to Apple, its quarterly profit has risen to $1.23 billion,
representing a 12 percent gain year-over-year. It beat Wall Street estimates on
revenue and earnings per share. Once again, the company is one of the most
profitable in the tech industry.
Apple's success is partly due to its vision. The company wasn't content to
simply offer computers, so it analyzed the space and delivered compelling
products that appeal to consumers across a wide array of markets. There's no
debating that Apple has achieved its success in no small part because of the
consumer appeal of its products.
But is that all? Is the company enjoying this success solely because of its own
vision? It's debatable. A quick glance at Apple's
financial data tells a slightly different tale: Since the release of
Windows Vista, Apple has been far more profitable than it was when Windows XP
was leading the charge for Microsoft. Granted, that's partly due to the success
of the iPod and the release of the iPhone, but is there more to it than meets
the eye?
Vista was a nightmare for Microsoft. Designed to be the
follow-up to XP and the operating system to carry the Microsoft banner going
forward, it failed in the enterprise. Most companies opted to stick with XP out
of fear that Vista's hardware requirements were too
great. Worse, it suffered from compatibility issues when it was released,
causing headaches for some companies when mission-critical applications stopped
working on the new operating system.
It got so bad that Dell, Hewlett-Packard and other
major vendors gave users the option to exercise "downgrade" rights,
allowing customers to buy a Vista PC but have the vendor install XP instead.
The enterprise had two options after Vista was released: Stick with outdated hardware until
Windows 7 hit store shelves or venture into uncharted territory by buying Macs
and deploying Mac OS X networkwide. For some companies, the latter option was
impossible-they were using applications that only worked with Windows. But
other companies weren't tied down to a single operating system and opted
instead to try out Apple products. Since then, Apple's
market share has grown consistently.
At the same time, Apple's iPod and iPhone business has grown, as well. Even
consumer market share has grown in the same period. Part of that might be due
to Vista
and Microsoft's many false starts.
What Windows 7 Could Mean for Mac OS X
But if there is a correlation between Mac sales and Vista,
wouldn't there also be a negative correlation between Mac adoption and Windows
7's success?
Windows 7 probably won't stop Apple's rise in the consumer space. The iPod and
the iPhone are contributing heavily to its success and not even Windows 7 can
stop that. But in the enterprise, it's entirely different. Those companies that
moved to Mac OS X or are considering deploying Apple's operating system might
need to think twice. Windows is still the leader in the enterprise for good
reason. Unlike Mac OS X, Windows is the operating system platform
for almost every software package designed for businesses. It's a more
business-friendly operating system. Apple's Mac OS X doesn't enjoy those same
benefits.
In the end, it's Windows 7 and its value that will dictate how well Mac OS X
will perform in the enterprise going forward. If Windows 7 can live up to the
hype, Apple's growth in the enterprise will be stymied. Companies that had
thought about getting new hardware to replace their outdated XP computers will
need to choose between Windows 7 or Mac OS X. As long as Windows 7 ships to the
enterprise with as much value as Microsoft has promised, Mac OS X won't be the
chosen operating system. Microsoft will be able to return to absolute dominance
in the enterprise.
As long as Microsoft releases operating systems that don't quite match the
requirements of the enterprise, companies will think about deploying Mac OS X.
That's why Windows 7 is so important. If it can live up to its promise,
companies will adopt it, they will opt for an HP, Lenovo or Dell PC instead of
a Mac, and Apple's growth in the enterprise will end.
Windows is an extremely powerful operating system. It dictates the enterprise
market. It controls how companies do business. And, it seems, it plays a part
in Apple's success. But with Windows 7 promising greater appeal than Vista,
Apple might already have enjoyed its best days in the enterprise.
