Microsoft's new Surface Pro and RT tablets haven't exactly lit the world on fire since their debut, but does that mean they're dead in the water? The competition is fierce in the mobile space, and Apple's iPad, along with the various Android tablets, pose a serious threat to Microsoft's Surface ambitions — but the one area where Redmond still has an advantage is with businesses.
At least, that's what Matthew Oakeley, global IT head of Schroders, thinks. Oakeley is not very confident in Apple's ability to win over enterprise with the iPad, mostly because it doesn't integrate very well with the Microsoft programs that businesses have built themselves up on.
"The real problem is that, if you run a Microsoft Windows estate, you want something that can talk to it," Oakeley said in an interview with Computer Weekly.
"At an event I asked Steve Ballmer: 'When are you going to solve the iPad problem? When are you going to make it that the iPad can talk natively to Microsoft?' And he said, 'Probably never; we are not friends.' "
That's a very straightforward answer from Ballmer, who usually hems and haws when asked about bringing programs like the Office suite to the iPad. While it would make Microsoft (and Apple) a lot of money, doing so would surely put an end to any chance of the Surface Pro/RT line-up carving out a significant presence in the tablet field.
Some companies have seen success using the iPad, but Oakely thinks they are exceptions rather than rules.
"I bet a lot of people bought iPads for work but don't use them for work," he said. "The real problem is that, if you run a Microsoft Windows estate, you want something that can talk to it."
So, can Windows 8 and the Surface Pro/RT really take off? Businesses are more likely to consider adopting the Surface because of its Windows compatibility, but even though there's promise, Microsoft still has some kinks to work out.
"Windows 8 Pro might allow you to have a mobile device that is just like your laptop," Oakeley added. "That would be great but I do not think it will be an iPad. The surface looks like a prototype to something and I think I could eventually prefer it to an iPad. If Microsoft can deliver on it I think they will have been very clever."
