Apple @ Work: Apple said no to business email to say yes to more important initiatives

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As Apple has continued to grow in the enterprise, one area where 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 attempted 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 gone on, I am 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 deploying and managing firewalls, switches, a mobile device management system, enterprise grade Wi-Fi, 100s of Macs, and 100s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple IT managers deploy Apple devices, build networks to support them, train users, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for IT departments.

Businesses don’t change providers unless it’s a dramatically better solution

One challenge that businesses face as they grow is the need to continue to expand into other business areas. Apple is seeing that on the consumer side. They’re adding new services faster than you can count. On the business side, they’re taking a different approach. They focus on the core competencies that make them successful in the first place. They do not try to be everything to everyone. Instead, they are focused on making products that they can make well and 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 business email hosting platform would be subpar compared to Google and Microsoft at work and on par at best. Businesses generally don’t change providers for something that’s just as good as what they’re leaving. There is innovation happening in email, but it’s at the app layer instead of the protocol. Apps like Spike, Hey, and Twobird are innovating on how people experience email, but there’s not as much innovation happening at the hosting level.

Apple said no to say yes

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.” – Steve Jobs, 1997

Apple is a company that has achieved tremendous success and has become a household name around the world. However, it’s important to remember that Apple, like any other company, has its limitations and can’t do everything.

One key aspect of Apple’s success has been its ability to focus on a select number of products and do them exceptionally well. While other companies may try to spread themselves thin by offering a wide range 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 business email, they can say yes to modernizing its APIs for device management. By saying no to business email, they can focus on expanding integrations for Apple Business Manager. By saying no to business email, they can expand out its identity provider integrations on macOS. When I look at all the great things that Apple has built out for the enterprise over the last few years, they’re all head and shoulders more important than Apple launching a business email provider.

IdP became more important than email

In the past, email accounts were often used as the primary method of authentication for enterprise systems. However, as the use of cloud-based applications and services has become more prevalent in the business world, the need for a more secure and reliable method of authentication has become evident. This is where identity providers like Okta and Ping have become increasingly important.

Identity providers offer a single sign-on solution for access to multiple applications and services, allowing employees to use a single set of login credentials to access all of the tools they need to do their job. This not only makes it more convenient for users, but it also helps to 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 the pipelines of enterprise authentication, 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 method of authentication has helped to improve security and streamline the user experience in the modern workplace.

Wrap-up

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 out APIs for integrations with other systems. By focusing on what it does best and collaborating with other companies, Apple has been able to offer a range of innovative solutions that meets the needs of businesses and individuals alike. 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