When teasing the arrival of the first iPhone, then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer made it clear that he believed Apple had no chance of success.
Things have changed a lot since Apple launched the iPhone in January XNUMX.
The product that changed everything
At the time, Apple was an iPod company that also made low-powered PowerPC Macs. Today, it's the iPhone maker whose iPad devoured the netbook "industry" and whose entry-level Macs with their tailored silicon offer low-power computing performance that rivals the best PCs.
Today we see a decrease in PC sales, accelerating Mac sales, and Microsoft without a serious situation in the mobile field.
"Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the time.
Ballmer, the story shows, laughed in reply.
Only one of them was wrong.
iPhone called Apple to business
When it comes to businesses, while you can locate PCs on your site, engagement is changing, and mobile devices have transformed the way we do business.
The push for mobile means Apple is thriving in every category it plays in the enterprise computing space, and while Ballmer's laugh fades into history, it seems Cupertino has at least one. Decade before Google Chrome gained more than a PR-focused foothold in enterprise computing. When given a choice, employees typically select an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
One of the biggest flaws Ballmer referred to was the cost. But the costs are much better understood today. TCO studies show that while the initial outlay for Apple products may seem higher, the reduced cost of technical support and the loyalty and productivity benefits of employee choice more than make up for it.
The iPhone caught the eye, and the iPad and iPhone joined the Bring Your Device trend and employee choice that characterizes enterprise IT deployment today.
When free costs the world
We also better understand the dangers of "no cost" in technology.
Years of data mining by shadow promotional networks, technology companies, and social media have exposed threats to civil liberties, political accommodation, and human rights. Take a look and you will see that privacy is not just a personal issue, it is a fabric whose suppression threatens our way of life.
That's why Apple works where it can keep you safe. And where that is not possible, like in China, we see the consequences. Why would the loss of privacy play out differently elsewhere?
Apple is not happy with its corporate push
A patronizing company would not prioritize security, would seek preferred deals for business service customers with telecommunications networks, and would actively support the evolution of an ecosystem of MDM and security vendors that support the company.
A patronizing company would not focus on the relentless development of new business APIs. It would not offer Apple Business Essentials, Apple Pay, Apple Card, or Tap to Pay. And it certainly wouldn't be preparing to introduce what it surely hopes will be a huge leap in cooperation in the form of AR glasses.
This focus on the business market yields tangible rewards. Apple accounted for XNUMX% of the US business PC market at one point last year, something no one would have imagined when Apple introduced its very fancy communicator/music player/web browser paradigm in XNUMX.
Few would have believed then that such a big change by Apple was possible. More was possible.
You can even measure the effect: just look at the Statcounter OS statistics for the US to get an idea of how things have altered. Apple's Mac/iOS systems combined account for more than XNUMX% of all US web traffic by operating system, with Android accounting for XNUMX% more.
The transformation will continue
I'm starting to lose sight of how many tech leaders now tell me, "Apple will dominate the company for years to come." You can thank 15 years of iPhone (and multiple years of mobile exploration with iPad) for that. Every single company these days wants to have an app and reach out to others through every single mobile channel they can grasp.
Mobile devices aren't just a game for consumers: business communications, data processing, and back-end services (an area in which Microsoft seems to shine) are essential for companies today. The wave of mobile change fueled by the iPhone hasn't just replaced copiers and fax machines—these products have revolutionized the way we live, work, and play, and Apple's rise reflects that. While the company doesn't always find the right combination, Apple's mission to create easy-to-use systems that stop, rather than hinder, has proven its worth over time.
A new world era
“iPhone also ushers in an era of software power and sophistication never seen before in a mobile device, completely redefining what users can do on their mobile phones,” Apple said during the iPhone presentation. your device.
Fifteen years later, it's pretty hard to see how to think differently about this.
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