What is Enterprise focus anyway?

[Andre Markus]

Hello everyone,

I will in advance apologies myself for any english grammar error I commit during my text. As a matter of fact I'm not a native english speaker.

Anyway, today I received this e-mail from LinkedIn app:

André,

We are retiring the existing Windows Mobile App on 08/31/2017, which means the app icon will remain on your phone but will no longer work. You can continue to use LinkedIn on your Windows phone by going to www.linkedin.com from your mobile web browser (Edge, Internet Explorer). From here you'll be able to access the full range of LinkedIn features, including search and profile editing, which were not available on the app.

For easy access to LinkedIn mobile web, you can pin the website to your start screen on your mobile device and open it with a single tap. Instructions on how to do so below.
1. Open the web browser on your Windows phone.
2. Enter www.linkedin.com and navigate to the site.
3. Tap the three-dot menu button at the top right.
4. Select "Pin To Start"
Additionally, we will be launching a new LinkedIn Windows desktop app in a few weeks on the Microsoft Windows App store.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

The LinkedIn Team


This caused me a concern about not only the LinkedIn app, which I rarely use, but MS support on the platform itself. In twitter, one of Microsoft engineers rudely responded to an inquirer about new Windows phone availability saying that MS was marketing the phone to Enterprise only. Maybe that is true for the current marketing, but at launch it was available to everyone and so, the support should remain for everyone. But then I start to wounder: what is Enterprise focus anyway. Why should a company buy a Windows phone for its employees if not all the apps needed were available? Then I received the e-mail above.
Did not MS acquired LinkedIn as the company social network? It is not LinkedIn THE enterprise social network? It is not WP focused on Enterprise? So why the hell this app doesn't have an official app to MS own Mobile OS? Lack of Money do develop? Don't think so... Lack of universal platform? Don't think so...

I live in Brazil and have imported a Lumia 950XL device from Germany as my first flagship smartphone. I absolutely love Windows phone interface and design. I use continuum to minister university classes instead of an Laptop and found it perfectly mobile. I read Windows Central predictions about the future of the platform and cheers at the prospect of the new technologies MS is developing. BUT I also feel cheated when MS Maps GPS send me to the work destination and lags to update position. When have to pin web pages tiles in place of an app. When have to call a Cabify using a poorly design webpage. When I have to freely and on good intention send a feedback from a poorly design, ugly, noob Feedback interface. When I have to use Cortana in English two years after its release to get all functionality. When MS employee says that my worries are my own doing because they market to Enterprise not consumer and now when their own app is no longer supported I start to wonder if the joke is 'on me' and it was a very expensive Joke for all that matters.

Then I ask: What does Enterprise focus mean?

 

[xandros9]

The whole situation is up to interpretation by the individual, but the way I see it, Microsoft's "enterprise focus" and "retrenching" was more of a smokescreen to cover for putting less and less resources into fixing and maintaining Windows 10 Mobile.

The core features that do work could arguably be all you need in business and lead people to make excuses for the lack of mainstream applications, but having been a fan for a couple years I can say that I've learned to watch Microsoft's actions over listening to their statements.