Apple treading cautiously in corporate market

	In response to "The Mac at 20: What's in store for the future?" Robert Boylin writes:

I agreed with your article "The Mac at 20" on Apple's lack of apparent focus on the potential of the corporate market to expand their market share. Yes, I too noticed Job's more enthusiastic demo of the digital lifestyle products versus the server and raid solutions. Perhaps he was cognizant of the audience reaction to this much smaller market segment product.

He didn't expand on the potential of cluster computing and Apple's efforts to promote and support that market. I believe these new products along with the support software for cluster computing will be making a big impact on various fields where intensive computing requirements have often necessitated big iron solutions. These, and super computing installations will be instrumental in opening many more doors to Apple's technologies.

As everyone knows, Apple needs to continue to tread lightly on Microsoft's turf. They are not ready for a frontal assault that would be required should Microsoft stop software development for the Mac. Jobs has said in the past that it is a matter of timing, not surrender. He conceded Microsoft's dominance and it's implications for Apple's position in the market as a whole. But, there are signs that he hasn't abandoned the potential for expanding Apple's presence in the corporate and government markets. The current G5 design has features making emulation much faster. I am hoping Microsoft is taking advantage of the addition two way data paths and memory to the translation functionality in their next release of Virtual PC. As IBM releases the 980 this fall with the 65um technology, which a year ahead of Intel, Apple will be in a great position to produce lower cost computers of staggering power. The 980 will likely have two cores, which makes the two chip models similar in power to a four chip 970 box.

Apple's Cocoa technology continues to enable their small programming staff to produce and improve applications that challenge the industry. An Office suite is certainly within their potential. Their hesitance to release one is purely based on having compelling products with which to fight for corporate markets. These may come after Apple completes it's migration to the IBM chips. A "headless" Mac of smaller proportions to their current towers is one such product. But, as other technologies advance, it may become a moot point with servers and wireless technologies enabling distributed computing to much simpler desktop machines.

I don't expect the strong focus on corporate markets to come in the next year. Apple does have a group that is trying to ensure that essential corporate software apps are available before such a move develops. This takes time and better corporate cooperation than Apple has done in the past.

Robert Boylin