Apple’s iOS8 features are delivering some exciting improvements for consumer messaging, however, Apple WWDC messaging announcements won't deliver significant business value.
For Apple enthusiasts, Christmas often comes in June. The annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is the launching point for the world's most valuable company to unveil its latest and greatest advances. And this year didn't disappoint-- the company unveiled interesting new products and new operating systems for its Macs (OS-X Yosemite) and mobile devices (iOS 8). While some Apple fans may have been expecting a more exciting hardware-oriented update, the advances for iMessage proved extremely interesting to those of us in the space who understand the transformational role of mobile and text messaging.
So what changed? Apple's updates to its iMessage app include a veritable "kitchen sink" of features aimed at addressing current shortcomings and adding capabilities available in other messaging offerings found in their app store, including:
- Ability to send a quick voice message rather than typing out a text message
- Group messaging that allows for naming of groups and adding or removing members on the fly (and mute conversations)
- Videos/Photos/Audio that disappear unless you choose to keep them
- Ability to automatically share your location with other iOS users
- A "Do Not Disturb" option to silence any alerts or vibrations per thread
- The ability to start a message on an iOS device and continue it on a Mac or another iOS device on the same wireless network, and others
While the developers of some apps (like WhatsApp) believe Apple has appropriated many of their features, and some pundits were critical of the fundamental focus on iOS users with no interoperability for other platforms, I think the overall focus by Apple on messaging is great for consumer communication.
But for the Enterprise: What is the impact? Not Much
What is the impact of these new features and functionality from Apple on the business messaging experience in the enterprise? My assessment is – at this stage – not much.
Even the most stalwart Apple advocate would have to agree that many of these features are squarely aimed at the consumer end of the spectrum, and that the limitations of communicating only within the iOS system are not practical for today's inherently heterogeneous enterprise environment.
And despite the nice features promised in iMessage for iOS 8, it seems unlikely that even Apple would claim that they have designed, or even are focused on developing, an enterprise-grade open/cross-mobile messaging platform necessary to meet the needs of the enterprise or a business professional.
With that in mind – here is how I would rank some of these changes and shortcomings for the enterprise:
• iMessage is great--if you're only talking to other Apple users. All of iMessage's new features only work within the Apple universe. And as Crittercism pointed out in recent research, although the press coverage may make it seem like we're living in an Apple world, Android-based devices today control over 50% of the marketshare, with Apple at 42%.
• It's not personal, it's business. Apple is second-to-none in designing a great consumer experience. But business users have additional demands--particularly the need to separate business from personal. iMessage lumps personal and business messages together in one in box and there's no way to tag messages to differentiate them.
• The Cloud matters. Today, cloud-based services are defining the new reality in the enterprise. Software needs to be easy to deploy and available across all devices. So while the new sharing functionality in Apple iOS8 is great, it is not cloud-based. iMessage will simply enable a professional within the same wireless network to start a message on one device and finish it on another. Today both parties must have Apple devices and be on the same wireless network, or the computer and phone need to be in the same general proximity. In the era of cloud, the true potential for business messaging lies in allowing users to start and finish their messages regardless of device, platform, network or location.
• Be sure to "play well" with others--particularly enterprise apps. As readers of No Jitter are aware, one of the big challenges of business messaging is the ability to interoperate or federate with the existing enterprise business communication stack. A true business messaging solution should easily integrate with enterprise applications used by professionals today for collaboration, such as Cisco Jabber, Lync, Salesforce and the like--empowering seamless messaging without the need to leave the application. iMessage is integrated into Apple's other consumer apps--like iPhoto--but that's it.
• Be Accountable. Whether mandated by regulation or as part of corporate governance, today's business-class messaging solutions should let users securely archive messages according to company policy. iMessages are not capable of being retained and archived by the company.
Takeaways? Apple's iOS8 features are delivering some exciting improvements for consumer messaging. And for those of us in the business messaging space, the attention is welcome.
However, we can't count on everyone that we communicate with having an Apple device, or always having our Apple device next to our computer, so the Apple WWDC messaging announcements won't deliver significant business value.
Bill Gianoukos is the Chief Product Officer of HeyWire Business.
