the game in terms of providing a native iPad version of one of their core applications, and The New York Times’ Nick Wingfield is one of them. Wingfield also noted the large number of third-party solutions available to iPad users who want a Microsoft Office-like program on their tablet. Some of those solutions are complementary to Office—using plug-ins to bring PowerPoint slides to a tablet device. Others, such as Prezi and Keynote, have their own unique file formats, requiring specific software to create or view the document.
But if the chief pain that a third-party technology is attempting to address is simply to view slides on an iPad, then Office might be a more convenient option. Familiarity with the Office product suite and file extensions, which can be viewed by anyone in a company, offers iPad users some powerful advantages.
Because of this entrenched advantage—who doesn’t know what Office is?—third-party applications selling into the business will have to explain why companies need their service in addition to Office, as well as instead of Office. It’s conceivable that technologies that act simply as a PowerPoint replacement will have a tough time proving their added value now that the 800-pound gorilla just arrived at the party.
Before today, the ability to simply view a document on a tablet device was the ante for business productivity applications. Before Office for iPad, the reality was that many iPad-toting sales reps weren’t using their sleek tablets for much more than making sure their kids were entertained while the family went out to dinner.
Going forward, I expect to see an explosion of tablet usage by business professionals—from sales reps winning new customers to executives making more informed decisions on-the-go, because they now have access to the information that they need in the format they grew up using. Applications that enhance the productivity of Office—not strain to replace it—will be the ones that provide the competitive advantage to the largest companies across industries.
