  |
 |
||||||
Give us the business, Apple
Apple's not-so-hidden message to Mac managers over the past few months has been disturbing: It is dropping any pretense of selling into the corporate market. I call it a not-so-hidden message because Apple has never stated it clearly, only hinting at it with its call to arms in the education and content-creation markets. But as a result of these hints the rumor mill has churned, and the belief among too many Mac managers and their bosses is that Apple is abandoning all hope of targeting the business sector. Many folks in large corporations have written to me, "This is a bad idea, Don." With the hot new G3 Macs, Microsoft Corp.'s renewed Mac commitment with Office 98 and Internet Explorer, and the imminent release of Rhapsody, Apple has finally got the right stuff for business. Focus, focus, focusJust as Apple is focusing on content creation and education, it could and should be focusing on corporate sales - but not in a broad-brush sense (which it can't possibly execute now, anyway). Instead, how about a new Apple Business division that targets Fortune 1000 companies, selling a package of G3 desktops, G3 PowerBooks, eMate 1000s for the field, WebObjects, Rhapsody servers, Rhapsody's Interface Builder (as an object-oriented rapid development and deployment system), Microsoft Office 98 and the absence of the Year 2000 bug? As one Mac business maven told me, "The next two years could be crucial as businesses and government offices seeks to convert their non-Y2K-compliant systems, and Apple is poised to take advantage of this and leapfrog the competition. If Apple proposed business solutions to even a few of these companies, it might help revive the platform." It might, indeed! In fact, given the right sales incentives and support for these companies (Hello Claris! Hello Microsoft!), it could turn around Apple's moribund corporate sales. Perception is everythingThe perception of Apple as a profitable, engaging, forward-thinking company is critical to its success and to Mac managers. What could be more uplifting for this perception than an Apple that's recapturing long-lost ground in big business? A market, in case we all have forgotten, that buys most of the computers in the world. With the internal and external problems that Apple has, any sort of win in the corporate domain would be a lift. As one Appleite noted recently to me in a heartfelt missive: "It's hard not to be cynical these days regarding Apple. Too many good people are leaving the company, dead wood remains in place in middle management, ideas drown in red tape, and bureaucracy hasn't grasped the potential of thinking different. Still, one has to believe that Apple wants to grow, and not just seek a niche in which to hide." Don Crabb welcomes nice, thoughtful comments at don@doncrabb.com. You can also check out his Web page at http://www.doncrabb.com. Nasty, mean-spirited comments may be sent to null@bitbucket.com.
|
   
Berst
Cooper Crabb Dodge Dvorak Grevstad Louderback Lundquist Machrone Miller Ratcliffe Willmott |
|||||
   | ||||||
