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As Apple has continued to grow the business, one area the company has never ventured into is business email hosting through iCloud. Unlike Google and Microsoft, which offer popular email hosting solutions for businesses with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, Apple has never tried to compete in this market. In the past I said they were wrong to avoid an iCloud Email for Business strategy, but as the years have passed I’m here to admit I was wrong and Apple was right.
About Apple @ Work: Bradley Chambers managed an enterprise IT network from 2009 to 2021. Through his experience implementing and managing firewalls, switches, a mobile device management system, enterprise-grade Wi-Fi, hundreds of Macs and hundreds of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways how Apple IT managers deploy Apple devices, build networks to support them, train users, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple can improve its products for IT departments.
Companies don’t switch providers unless it’s a dramatically better solution
One challenge that companies face as they grow is the need to continue to expand into other business areas. Apple sees it on the consumer side. They are adding new services faster than you can count. On the business side, they have a different approach. They focus on the core competencies that make them successful in the first place. They don’t try to be everything to everyone. Instead, they are focused on making products that they can make well and that people want to buy. This is why Apple has never offered an email hosting solution for businesses. They know what they’re good at and they don’t want to waste their time trying something new just because it’s another service to sell.
The reality is that Apple offering its own enterprise email hosting platform would be inferior compared to Google and Microsoft at work and at best level. Companies generally don’t switch providers for something that’s as good as what they’re leaving. Innovation is happening in email, but it’s at the app layer rather than the protocol. Apps like Spike, Hey and Twobird are innovating how people experience email, but there isn’t as much innovation happening at the hosting level.
Apple refused to say yes
“People think that focus means that you say yes to what you need to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means that you say no to the hundred other good ideas that are out there.” – Steve Jobs, 1997
Apple is a company that has achieved tremendous success and has become a household name around the world. However, it is important to remember that Apple, like any other company, has its limitations and cannot do everything.
A key aspect of Apple’s success has been its ability to focus on a select number of products and make them exceptionally well. While other companies may try to spread themselves thin by offering a wide variety of products and services, Apple has always been selective about what it chooses to pursue. By saying no to most things, Apple is able to focus its resources and attention on what it does best.
By saying no to corporate email, they can say yes to modernizing their device management APIs. By saying no to corporate email, they can focus on expanding integrations with Apple Business Manager. By saying no to corporate email, they can extend their identity provider integrations on macOS. When I look at all the great things that Apple has built for the company over the last few years, they are all head and shoulders more important than Apple launching a business email provider.
IdP became more important than email
In the past, e-mail accounts were often used as the primary method of authentication to corporate systems. However, as the use of cloud-based applications and services has become more widespread in business, the need for a more secure and reliable method of authentication has become apparent. This is where identity providers like Okta and Ping have become increasingly important.
Identity providers offer a single sign-on solution for accessing multiple applications and services, allowing employees to use a single set of login credentials to access all the tools they need to do their jobs. This not only makes it more convenient for users, but also helps improve security by centralizing authentication and making it easier to manage and control access.
As a result, identity providers like Okta and Ping have become enterprise authentication pipelines, offering a secure and efficient way for businesses to manage employee access to the tools and resources they need. This shift away from using email accounts as the primary authentication method has helped improve security and streamline the user experience in the modern workplace.
Closing
Apple’s decision not to launch an iCloud for business email service was a smart move. Instead of trying to compete in an already crowded market, the company chose to focus on building APIs for integrations with other systems. By focusing on what they do best and collaborating with other companies, Apple has been able to offer a range of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both businesses and individuals. While the company may not offer a standalone business email service, it has still found ways to meet the needs of its enterprise customers through its strong ecosystem of integrations and partnerships.
Photo by Michał Kubalczyk on Unsplash
Apple @ Work is brought to you by Mosyle, the only Apple Unified Platform. Mosyle is the only solution that fully integrates 5 different applications on a single Apple-only platform, allowing businesses to easily and automatically deploy, manage and protect all their Apple devices. Over 38,000 organizations leverage Mosyle solutions to automate the deployment, management and security of millions of Apple devices daily. Request a FREE account today and discover how you can put your Apple fleet on autopilot at a price that’s hard to believe.
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