Apple to Make Cloud Moves?
I’m hearing rumors that Apple is gearing up to announce SaaS (software as a service) versions of its iWork and iLife productivity suites in the cloud at Macworld 2010 2009, which opens its doors tomorrow. If the buzz turns out to be true, not only will the secretive Cupertino giant offer the usual document creation software, but also a cloud version of their renowned iMovie editing software. Here’s what it could mean for resellers.
Apple does have a channel program, but the fact is that they don’t talk much about it. Judging from reader comments here at The VAR Guy, Apple’s a non-entity to most resellers. What this really means for the channel, if Apple really does plan a move to the cloud, is that established SaaS providers Zoho, Microsoft, and Google are all going to have to step up their game. The public’s eye has been set squarely on Apple for the last few years, and if they’ve come up with a strong solution for editing video in the cloud, everyone’s going to want it.
As to whether or not the rumors are true — well, frankly, it seems unlikely. Unless Apple does something like link the hypothetical SaaS iLife and iWork to MobileMe, their existing Mac-only cloud storage and data syncing solution, they’d be giving up the edge of OS X exclusivity. Moreover, if YouTube and uStream, with years of experience, haven’t been able to nail video editing in the browser, it seems unlikely relative newcomer to the cloud Apple will be able to.
Either way, we’ll know this week how true the rumor turns out to be.
Everyone thought they were crazy when they pushed iTunes to Windows. Now everyone sees it as a brilliant move.
Just sayin’. đŸ˜‰
Jacob: You’ve hit on that classic Apple strategy … remain just open enough to win more customers, but just closed enough to keep them addicted/locked to Apple solutions…
-TVG
I’m confused. MacWorld 2010 will be in February this year (9-13). So what are you referring to with the MacWorld 2009 reference from last year?
Exigo: Ah, you caught us in an error. Thanks for pointing it out. Intro has been corrected.
-TVG
Exigo: Good catch, and my mistake. Here’s the more recent link I was remiss for not including in the article: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/26/apple-expanding-iwork-in-the-cloud/
What this means is that it’s a persistent rumor, but it’s never had more legs than it does now.
This is fast becoming the most crowded market, which already has solutions from Google, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Oracle. Welcome Apple!