Microsoft’s Cross-Device Plans are Already Feeling the Squeeze (Premium)

The rippling after-effects of Microsoft's mobile defeat continue to haunt the software giant. And while I understand and even laud its attempts at making Windows work better with Apple's and Google's mobile platforms, I have to wonder if this renewed focus on mobile won't also fail.

The reasoning here is simple enough.

Apple already rewards users who stick within its ecosystem with seamless cross-platform capabilities, like the ability to send and receive text messages from iPads and Macs, and to share files between all of their devices via iCloud.

Google, too, is upping its in-house game: The firm will soon allow Chromebook users to resume web browsing sessions that were begun on Android. And it already provides some cross-platform capabilities, like the ability to send and receive text messages from the Chrome web browser.

What's most interesting about Google's approach to me, however, is how it neatly highlights the limitations of Apple's tunnel vision. With the Apple approach, you need to buy in to (literally) an expensive family of Apple hardware devices in order to benefit most from its strategy. But Google doesn't really care what hardware you use. It only cares that you use its online services and its Chrome web browser.

And that, folks, is genius. It allows users to pick the PC or hardware that appeals most to them and still take advantage of the Google ecosystem. There's lock-in, for sure, but not to the degree---and the cost---that Apple imposes. Most important, Google's soft lock-in promotes something I feel is very important: Choice. Freed from having to pick from a limited selection of Apple Macs and devices, customers can simply pick the hardware that works best for them.

Taking that a step further, it also behooves Google to make Chrome OS, and the Chromebooks which run on that platform, to be as good as possible. And when an individual chooses Chromebook, they will most likely do so because they feel it's the right choice. Not because they have no other choice.

Let's compare those strategies to what Microsoft is attempting.

As part of its newly-coined Modern Life services initiative, Microsoft is once again admitting to the reality of the marketplace: Its customers often use Windows on PCs, but they sometimes use Macs and even Chromebooks. On mobile, Microsoft is nowhere to be found: Its entire customer base is on Android and iPhone.

And so Microsoft has had to adapt. In addition to simply bringing its apps to others' mobile platforms---an effort that is obvious today but was actually controversial in some circles just a few years ago---Microsoft is now evolving these apps to be more integrated on the back end.

This isn't just about document sync. And the goal is to move past basic "anywhere/everywhere" access to files via OneDrive. To allow users to work on one PC or device and then "pick up where they left off" when they use a different device. A sort of document sync with benefits, if you w...