How Microsoft's strategy for supporting apps developed for Android and iOS differs from similar plans by BlackBerry and IBM
Peter Bright / Ars Technica :
Context & Ripple Effects
By early 2015, the cross-platform picture was already clear: an analysis of development activity showed Apple, Google, and each shipping software for their rivals' platforms, a reversal of the walled-garden era. Weeks before this piece, Microsoft underscored the shift by publishing its long list of apps built for iOS.
This article matters because it draws the strategic distinction: Microsoft is not abandoning its own platform the way others have. Where BlackBerry would later stake a comeback on running Google's OS outright, and IBM pursued its own variant of cross-platform support, Microsoft's approach keeps Windows at the center while reaching Android and iOS users through its apps and tools.
First-order effects
- Windows users gain access to an app ecosystem that no longer depends solely on native Windows development, since Microsoft itself now builds first-party apps for iOS and supports Android-originated apps.
Second-order effects
- Rivals face pressure to pick a lane: BlackBerry's answer arrives within months as a last-ditch plan built around Android devices, effectively conceding that hosting Google's platform beats defending its own.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the contest moves up the stack from operating systems to services and developer tools — a trajectory Microsoft makes explicit at Build 2017, when it frames its strategy around extending Windows experiences onto iOS and Android rather than competing with them.
The trend: Platform vendors are repositioning from defending proprietary mobile operating systems to treating iOS and Android as the distribution layer for their own apps and services.