The new Microsoft is not what you think

I've been using the Outlook app on my iPhone for the past month now. And I have to say, the experience is better than the iPhone's native Mail app and Google's Gmail app. Microsoft has decided to take a different approach from other companies in that the Outlook app, similar to how it is on the PC, is an all-in-one application that allows me to have access to my email, calendar, and contacts. The Googles and the Facebooks of the world are "appifying" everything by separating products into different apps. Yet, it is still unsure whether this is the better approach. When you think about workflows, it makes sense to be able to complete a full workflow within the same "pane of glass", without having to switch app screens. If I'm reading email, interacting with a document, and then scheduling a meeting to discuss aforementioned document, switching between screens on a mobile device requires much more effort and coordination, and doesn't provide the luxury to go back and forth. 

Microsoft is betting that a single app to handle all of your productivity needs is really what people want. To this effect, they have recently acquired extremely popular productivity apps in the consumer space. Acompli, the email app that had a loyal following, has now been rebranded as the Outlook app. Wunderlist, one of the best todo apps out there, has also been acquired. And Sunrise calendar app has been bought, which will now be fully integrated into the Outlook app, providing the same capabilities and features alongside your email, contacts, and documents.

This app strategy speaks to the "new Microsoft", that is now a cross-platform software company that doesn't care what your end-device is, as long as you're in their cloud and using their services. The common denominator between their app acquisitions is that they all have great products on both iOS and Android. Just a few years ago, it was unfathomable to think that Microsoft would build apps that work great on other mobile platforms. Ballmer was so focused on trying to make the walled garden approach a success, that he didn't dare think about having Office on anything other than a Windows phone, let alone an iPhone.

And yet here we are with the new Microsoft, led by Satya Nadella, which allows you to use Word, Powerpoint and Outlook on your Android phone or a Macbook notebook, and where it actually works great.  Couple this together with Microsoft's renewed vigor in the Surface line of products, and you begin to see that they give reason for Apple and Google to be concerned.