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Apple, the enterprise market player?

weekly roundup Mention Apple and you'll probably envision a company that's known for its cool, chic and fashionable product designs. But, it's perhaps less likely that you'll think of a company that also provides mission-critical products and services for enterprise customers.
Written by Eileen Yu, Senior Contributing Editor

weekly roundup Mention Apple and you'll probably envision a company that's known for its cool, chic and fashionable product designs. But, it's perhaps less likely that you'll think of a company that also provides mission-critical products and services for enterprise customers.

Apple last month said it was forced to delay the release of Leopard, the next version of its Mac OS X platform, because resources had to be diverted to ensure its iPhone remains on track for a June debut.

Does this signal the company's move to shift its focus away from the enterprise market?

Apple's not saying--for now, at least--but it's tough to assume otherwise, especially since it openly admitted to redirecting resources from Leopard to the highly-anticipated iPhone.

It's probably also tough for enterprises, which highly value a vendor's track record and industry experience, to put their networks in the hands of a vendor that's more well-known for its consumer products.

Ironically, I think part of the problem lies in the success of the Apple iPod. The portable media player has become such an icon for the company that most come to associate Apple as primarily a consumer market player, rather than a serious enterprise service provider.

It's a pity because the company could have relished the golden opportunity to penetrate the enterprise market when Microsoft had to delay its Vista launch and during the usual inertia for businesses to upgrade just after a new software version is released.

It's also a shame because Apple has some of the most loyal fans, and coupled with its ability to develop products that are unique--some say innovative--the company could very well see the same success in the enterprise space as it has with the iPod.

In other news this week, Dell Computer is reportedly backtracking on a strategy that helped the company achieve widespread fame. Employees at China's leading search engine Baidu could be getting a fat bonus soon, while another search giant Google unveils its latest desktop release.

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