Google and Apple need to play better in business

Apple and Google are both hoping to increase their presence in the business world. Google has its Google Apps, Google Mini Search Appliance, and App Engine (with Salesforce.com and many others). Apple wants to sell more Macs and now more iPhones in the business space. Both have complimentary services and both would like to thwart their rival, Microsoft.

So why don't these two titans play together better in the enterprise?

Apple doesn't natively support Google Apps on the iPhone or on the Macintosh beyond the IMAP email. Calendars don't sync (without 3rd party utilities). Addressbooks don't sync either. Apple has, however developed programs that natively sync Microsoft Exchange contacts and calendars to the iPhone.

Google shouldn't feel bad, however: Apple has chosen to support Microsoft's Exchange Calendars above even its own Leopard Server calendar(!!). Talk about betrayal of their enterprise platform! The iPhone contacts list also doesn't support Leopard Server but it does support Exchange. Oh, the irony!

For its part, Google has developed Microsoft Windows applications that keep your Google calendar synced - for free. For migration purposes, Google offers a free Microsoft Outlook/Thunderbird/etc email uploader. No such utilities exist for Mac Users. These things aren't rocket science! Companies like Spanning Sync and BusySync offer these as 3rd party add-ons for the "2nd class platform".

Google Talk is a PC-only corporate (and consumer) chat client that easily allows a client to send voicemails to co-workers' inboxes from their PC. Voice chatting is also very easy. Mac users who can also connect to Google's branded Jabber service via iChat (or Adium, etc.) don't have the full capabilities that are offered in Google Talk. What gives?

Google and Apple shouldn't waste this opportunity to hit the enterprise together. By pandering to Microsoft, both companies are weakening their collective position in the enterprise space.

Why can't each company seek parity on the other's platform at the very least? Google Talk for Mac, iPhone natively syncing to all Google Apps services. Or if you want to play Microsoft's game and on Microsoft's turf, make some exclusionary features/advantages to being a Google - Apple shop.

Until then, they've ceded the business space to Microsoft.

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