Windows Mobile and the enterprise Part II: The key to ecosystem success

Microsoft's focusing of Windows 10 Mobile on the enterprise has its rewards as well as its costs.
The immediate and most salient reward is the survival of Windows 10 Mobile. This, of course, is fundamentally essential. The Universal Windows Platform combined with Microsoft's entrenched IT presence in the enterprise makes this possible.

Apple's and Google's ecosystems will evolve unabated around popular mobile platforms.

We have taken a long view and understand that Microsoft's relevance in mobile rests precariously on the aligning of a number of anticipated shifts and developments in personal computing. I am both optimistic and excited about Microsoft's "next big thing." I am also cautiously aware that nothing is guaranteed. Microsoft shares this perception and is not sitting ideally by hoping that the necessary variables that comprise its personal computing vision simply come to pass. They are active participants in the development and promotion of the technologies and platforms it sees as beneficial to its comprehensive vision to support the mobility of experiences.

Keeping Windows Mobile "alive," even as an enterprise hermit, while the industry continues evolving (with Microsoft's support) toward that shift is, therefore, critical. President of Microsoft France Vahe Torossian, recently put it this way:

"We have a special position in the mobile today, focusing on the company, but we are working on the next big thing…"During this time of transition, our attention will focus on the professional market."

I contend that this decision has derivative effects that may inevitably jeopardize Microsoft's long-term plans. An absolute negligence of Windows Mobile in the consumer space, around which the broader ecosystem revolves, may undercut the future success of that ecosystem. Conversely, Google's and Apple's mobile platforms and supporting ecosystems exist in a state of near optimal synergy. Their ecosystems will continue to evolve around consumer's mobile experiences while Windows Mobile's enterprise focus dilutes the overall impact of Microsoft's.

Full story from the WindowsCentral blog...