Mac Users Are Getting New Outlook From Rival
A new, faster, better version of Microsoft Office is coming out Oct. 26. But it isn't for Microsoft's own Windows operating system. It is for the Macintosh computers made by the software giant's archrival, Apple.
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft had signaled in 2009 that the next Mac Office suite would add Outlook, then fixed an October 2010 retail window in August. The Oct. 26 release turns that long-promised Outlook addition into a near-term product change rather than a roadmap item.
For Apple, a full-featured Office suite reduces a familiar application gap for Mac buyers who depend on Microsoft’s productivity tools. Microsoft is treating the Mac as a supported endpoint even as Windows remains its own operating-system platform.
First-order effects
- Mac Office customers gain Outlook alongside the new Office release on Oct. 26, giving Microsoft a more complete productivity suite on Apple hardware.
- Microsoft’s Mac business unit must support Outlook and the wider Office suite on Macintosh, extending the company’s software relationship with Apple users.
Second-order effects
- Mac buyers in organizations standardized on Office face less pressure to choose Windows solely for Microsoft’s productivity software, strengthening Apple’s case for the Mac in those accounts.
- Microsoft shifts more of the competitive comparison toward Office features and cross-platform support, rather than relying on Windows exclusivity for Office-dependent customers.
Third-order effects
- If Microsoft continues to deliver major applications across rival platforms, productivity software becomes an interoperability layer that can preserve Microsoft’s customer relationship independent of the operating system.
- The release points to a broader contest in which platform vendors use support for essential third-party software to lower switching friction without surrendering control of their core operating systems.
The trend: Major software vendors are increasingly using cross-platform productivity suites to retain users as device and operating-system choices diversify.