Why iOS may become the next generation of enterprise operating system?

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Throughout my life, Windows and Mac operating systems have dominated my personal computing experience, with Android and iOS only recently becoming supplementary operating systems due to smartphone and tablet usage. But I have always believed that as millennials enter the business world, the technology tools they use, and the operating systems they use, will be completely different from previous generations.

The younger generation doesn’t use computers very often, however, they actually spend more time on their iPhones and iPads, and Macs for more productivity projects. They know iOS very well because it’s the OS they spend more time on than any other computer. I believe Apple understands this better than anyone, and their recent launch of the iPad Pro is seeing this important trend. More importantly, I see Apple using this trend to drive millennials to choose iOS as their preferred OS as they enter their careers and new job opportunities. In fact, in five to seven years, I suspect Windows will no longer be of interest to these young consumers because iOS will be the OS that dominates their work and personal lives.

Cook said at a recent launch event that the iPad Pro is the clearest expression of Apple's vision for the future of personal computers. Jobs said the same thing when he launched the first generation iPad, comparing the PC to a truck and the tablet to a car. Cook recently told BuzzFeed in an interview, "I think some people will never buy a computer because I think our iPad can do almost everything a personal computer can do."

I believe that Apple's goal is to make iPad Pro available to everyone, especially to become the main tool for millennials in the future, and to become their main productivity tool when they work. So iPad supports keyboard, and iOS will be able to handle most of their daily work needs. And Microsoft is creating new office software for iOS, and every month a large number of developers are developing productivity applications for Apple.

Even if they carry their computers with them, Apple's continuity strategy makes it easy for users to seamlessly transition between Mac and iPad Pro. It's no coincidence that IBM has ported over 100 enterprise-grade mobile management and security tools to iOS. With the launch of iPad Pro, Apple will bring the business market of the ecosystem to millennials in a dramatic way, and Apple will soon dominate the enterprise market in the next five years.

(Note: iPad Pro is still an iOS device that is mainly controlled by fingers. From this point of view, it exists as a product for consuming content, but the addition of a 12.9-inch screen and a keyboard stylus makes it a productivity tool. What Apple cares about most is actually the ecological chain. Whether it is updating products or launching new sizes, it is all to improve the ecological chain of Apple's several systems and open up interactions between them, making Apple products more and more sticky.)

If this happens, it will have a major impact on the PC industry. If millennials, who will become a major force in the business world in the next five to seven years, choose iOS, what will it mean for Microsoft? Unfortunately, Steve Ballmer misjudged the market when he thought the iPhone would be a failure, so he didn't give the team enough support to make a competing product after the iPhone was launched. Windows is still the primary tool for us to do business, but when millennials grow up and take over our generation as the most important force in business society, Windows-related businesses may be greatly affected. Getting millennials to use Windows phones can guarantee the future, but Microsoft is not doing this well now, and there is still a huge variable in what the dominant operating system will be in the future.

How will this affect the computer companies that have their financial lifelines tied to Windows, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Over time, millennials will see iOS become the dominant operating system for a period of time, which will definitely affect their current business models. Of course, this will not happen immediately, but millennials will be our future workforce, and in 5 to 10 years, Apple will likely dominate all aspects of the enterprise and consumer market.

Apple's strategy is very cunning.

It can be said that the iPhone, iPad and iOS operating system not only laid the foundation for Apple's own consumer market, but also greatly affected the enterprise market over time. Steve Jobs was the main planner of this strategy. Although he lost to Bill Gates 30 years ago, if Apple continued to implement this plan, they would dominate the personal computer world in the next 30 years.

While Tim Cook is credited as the executor of this strategy, make no mistake: Jobs was the architect. From the very beginning of the Mac, Jobs envisioned it becoming the primary tool for work businesses. However, he mistakenly underestimated Microsoft's ability to adapt, which allowed Microsoft to continue to dominate the business and personal computing worlds for decades.

Jobs knew he lost the Me and X generations, but understood that if he could get them hooked on his revolutionary OS, iOS could one day become the cornerstone of his broader strategy to disrupt the Windows business and slowly but strategically create hardware platforms that Apple could use to drive iOS far beyond its consumer base. The iPad Pro is Apple's first serious tool at the heart of this strategy - moving iOS into a mainstream business. You can bet Apple already has other hardware platforms in the works to support this direction. Maybe touch is not far off from the flip side of iOS just around the corner.

People of my generation know he's losing work, but understand that if he can get another generation hooked on his best operating system, iOS could one day become the cornerstone of a broader strategy to disrupt Windows in the business world, and to slowly but strategically create Apple hardware platforms that can be used to drive iOS far beyond its consumer base. The iPad Pro is Apple's first serious tool at the heart of this strategy -- iOS moving into mainstream business. You can bet Apple is working on other hardware platforms that support this direction. Maybe a clamshell touchscreen with iOS isn't far around the corner.

Jobs knew he had lost our generation, but he knew the new operating system iOS would one day become the cornerstone of the broader business world and have the potential to disrupt Windows. The iPad Pro is the first time this strategy really goes to the core - mobile iOS into mainstream business. You can bet that Apple will give more support to this hardware platform, and perhaps a touch-enabled personal computer using the iOS operating system is not far away.

The Mac remains an important part of this strategy, but I think its status will change. The iPad Pro and iOS are the hardware that millennials carry with them, and eventually the tools they need to get to work. That’s why Apple’s long-term strategy of continuous software is more strategic than any of us expected.

It’s clear that Apple isn’t just satisfied with owning the consumer market, it wanted to own the entire market when Jobs rejoined the company in 1997. And as millennials become addicted to iOS, Cook and his team are likely to realize this dream.