Software Reliability and Enterprise Computing

Apple is well-known for its success in personal computing, but also notorious for the bugginess of its software. Remember the early days of iCloud, when documents may suddenly disappear in entirety and never come back, with no backup. The practice of transforming customers into beta testers works because it's difficult to obtain compensation from Apple for data loss. There is no penalty for unreliable software in personal computing. The situation is bad. Many customers dare not upgrade to a new OS before a flurry of patches arrive.

In enterprise computing, reliability is critical, while fanciness is secondary. The bugginess of Apple software is certainly a concern for many companies that utilize Apple devices. It's uncertain whether Apple will adopt a more rigorous approach, considering that Apple makes no promises. What's certain is that lack of software reliability is bad for enterprise business. Companies can collapse if critical data loss occurs. Given Apple's track record, it's recommended that adoption of Apple enterprise solutions requires caution.

Google and Microsoft are much more seasoned in enterprise business. It remains to be seen whether Apple can win the satisfaction of its enterprise customers.