In yesterday’s post Why Apple Will Dominate Next Gen Computing, Alex Iskold wrote that Apple’s announcement of iPhone support for Microsoft Exchange “makes perfect sense” – as a competitive move against Blackberry and to position the iPhone as the default consumer / enterprise phone. However, how smart was this move by Microsoft?
Specifically, Apple has licensed Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, which InfoWorld described as “the technology required to synchronize mail, calendar, and other data directly with Microsoft Exchange rather than use third-party gateways or synchronization services.” This will be included in the iPhone 2.0 software planned for release this June.
As somebody said yesterday in a meeting that I was in, iPhone with ActiveSync may spell the end for Windows Mobile! Think about it: Exchange is arguably the most important functionality for an enterprise that runs Microsoft software (and many enterprises do). So if the iPhone, one of the fastest growing consumer mobile phones currently and with similar industry-changing potential as the iPod, can sync your data between home and office — what use would you have for a Microsoft Windows mobile phone? It seems that Microsoft is taking a huge risk here, letting the iPhone usurp the need for Windows Mobile phones in the enterprise.
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