????據報道，在不久前的Dreamforce科技大會上，微軟公司首席執行官薩蒂亞·納德拉先是用一部iPhone演示了Outlook的移動應用，然后才換成用Windows手機演示。考慮到蘋果與微軟曾一度是冤家對頭，這番舉動頗令人吃驚。而本月早些時候，在蘋果的新品發布會上，它請了一位微軟代表上臺演示，也讓所有人大跌眼鏡。

????盡管說我們對此不應該過度解讀，但這兩場活動也提示出：這兩家公司攜手合作對彼此都有好處。

????蘋果是一家消費品公司，銷售額的60%以上都來自旗艦產品iPhone。然而，盡管蘋果在全球市場的占有率持續攀升，但智能手機的銷量增速已經開始顯露頹勢，與安卓設備的激烈競爭也可能持續下去。這意味著該公司需要在利潤頗高的企業級市場增強影響力，以補充其消費品業務。畢竟，企業級市場今年的規模預計高達6200億美元。

????科技網站AppleInsider引用弗雷斯特研究公司的數據稱，如iPad等平板電腦市場的增長主要得益于企業用戶的使用率提高。此外，這家研究機構認為，蘋果的優勢地位將使其可以從整個平板電腦市場的增長中獲利，尤其是通過與IBM的合作。而與微軟結盟對蘋果來說可以鞏固其在重要的企業市場的地位，有利無害。

????微軟Office套件目前擁有12億用戶，它囊括了通用的Excel、Word和PowerPoint軟件。盡管谷歌和其他公司的產品造成了一定的競爭，但由于用戶的長期使用習慣，以及PC機仍是辦公主流，微軟Office依然是商業軟件的黃金標準。所以，對蘋果來說，盡管適用于iPad和iPhone的Office移動版已經被下載了8000萬次，但瞄準Office忠實用戶這一群體，蘋果仍有龐大的市場潛力可挖。

????與此同時，Mac臺式機和PC的銷量差距逐漸縮小，這非常有利于蘋果改善自身平臺上的微軟產品性能。換句話說，借助自身硬件銷量的提升以及微軟云服務Office 365的高人氣這兩大利好，蘋果可以大賺一筆。根據美國產業工業聯合會的數據，Office 365的使用率已經超過了Google Apps和Salesforce。

????微軟Office 365的火爆人氣，一方面可能源于可靠性和熟悉的操作界面，另一方面還免去了企業轉向云環境時耗費重金培訓員工適應新平臺的人力物力。此外，微軟也在推廣上下了大力氣，這才讓它重奪王位。與此同時，蘋果推出了12.9英寸的新款iPad Pro。根據投資者研究網站Motley Fool和其他機構的預計，它將幫助蘋果進一步擴大企業市場的份額。值得一提的是，根據IDC的數據，即便平板電腦市場有萎縮之虞，2合1混合型筆記本市場依舊在今年增長了86.5%。

????巧合的是，在企業級市場，微軟的Surface是iPad的直接競爭對手。但正因如此，提高微軟Office在蘋果平臺上的性能才尤為重要。否則，蘋果就失去了一個對Surface和其他設備的優勢。這就產生了一個有趣的問題：如果微軟與蘋果合作可能會影響自身設備的銷量，為什么他們要同意這樣做呢？

????這個問題需要從兩個層面來回答。分析師們認為，盡管微軟的Surface業務正在健康發展，但iPad Pro似乎擁有更好的前景。這就意味著對微軟而言，如果想要讓Office接觸到盡可能多的用戶，攜手蘋果不僅是一個不錯的選擇，而且是一個必然選擇。蘋果產品系統高度關聯而且粘性很大。要么加入，要么與其徹底絕緣。

????微軟需要蘋果的另一個理由在于公司正從軟件供應商轉型為云服務公司，尤其是在移動設備領域。在移動市場，蘋果iOS系統的占有率幾乎是微軟的7倍，微軟需要蘋果用戶來擴大公司的影響力。

????這一切都指向一個事實：蘋果與微軟這一次迅速發酵的合作關系，是明智且必然之舉，而且早就該這么做了。（財富中文網）

????譯者：嚴匡正

????審校：任文科

????During a presentation at Dreamforce last week, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reportedly demonstrated the Outlook mobile app on the iPhone first before switching to a Windows phone. This is surprising, given that Apple and Microsoft were bitter rivals at one time. And earlier this month, Apple surprised everyone when itinvited a Microsoft representative to present at the event unveiling its new iPhone and other products.

????Not that we should read too much into both events, but the instances remind me how much both companies could benefit by forming a partnership.

????Apple is a consumer company. More than 60% of its sales come from its flagship iPhone. But even though Apple’s global market share continues to climb, the sales growth for smartphones is declining and competition from Android devices is likely to remain fierce. That means the company needs supplement its consumer business by expanding its presence in the lucrative enterprise market, which is estimated to reach $620 billion this year.

????The growth in tablets (like the iPad) is being driven by business adoption, according to research from Forrester cited by AppleInsider. In addition, Forrester also sees Apple as being strongly positioned to reap the benefits of this growth, especially through itspartnership with IBM . An alliance with Microsoft will only help this process and strengthen Apple’s position in the important enterprise market.

????Microsoft’s Office suite, which includes popular programs like Excel, Word and PowerPoint, are used by 1.2 billion people, according to the company. Products from Google and others offer some competition but Microsoft Office remains the gold standard of business software due its long history with users and the ubiquity of PCs in the workplace. So while the Office for iPad and Office for iPhone apps have been downloaded 80 million times, that still leaves a large market of loyal Office users for Apple to target.

????Moreover, as the gap between PC sales versus those of Macs narrows over time, Apple is in an ideal position to take advantage of this trend by improving the performance of Microsoft products on its platform. In other words, Apple could get a double hit due to increasing sales of its own hardware and surging popularity of Microsoft Office 365, its cloud service, which is now beating both Google Apps and Salesforce in terms of usage, according to CIO.

????Likely reasons for Microsoft Office 365’s popularity include reliability and familiarity, the cost and difficulty of re-training employees on new platforms as companies migrate to the cloud, and a push by Microsoft to retake the crown. At the same time, Apple has introduced its new 12.9 inch iPad Pro, which is expected to help the company expand further into the enterprise market, according to investor research siteMotley Fool and others. It’s worth noting that even though the tablet market is projected to decline, the 2-1 hybrid device market (of which the iPad Pro is a part) is slated to grow by 86.5% this year, according to IDC.

????Ironically, Microsoft’s Surface line competes head on with iPads in the business segment. But then that’s all the more reason why improved performance of Microsoft’s Office products on the Apple platform is critical. Without it, Apple could lose competitive ground to Surface and other devices. This does, of course, bring up an interesting question: why would Microsoft agree to cooperate with Apple if it could potentially hurt its own hardware sales?

????The answer is two-fold. While Microsoft’s Surface business is healthy, the iPad Pro seems to have far brighter prospects, according to analysts. That means cooperation with Apple is not only desirable for Microsoft, but necessary, in its own bid to reach the widest possible audience for Office. Apple’s products exist in a highly inter-connected and sticky ecosystem; you’re either part of it or not.

????Another reason that Microsoft needs Apple is because the company is morphing from being a software provider to a cloud-based services company, especially over mobile devices. With Apple iOS’ market share in the mobile arena nearly 7 times that of Microsoft, the latter needs Apple’s users to maximize its reach.

????All of this points to the fact that a burgeoning partnership between Apple and Microsoft is sensible, inevitable and overdue.