Microsoft, Apple Rivalry Spills Into B2B Market

From computers to smartphones, Microsoft and Apple have ushered in the era of technological innovation with their never ending rivalry. Now, the two have launched combat on a new battlefield: the B2B market.

Microsoft’s fourth-quarter earnings report showed a jump in B2B sales, which is great news for the company that wants to eclipse Apple on that front. According to reports, B2B accounted for 25.6 percent of the technology firm’s sales in the last three months of 2014. Microsoft has been steadily increasing its grasp of the B2B of the market, with a 19 percent stake in B2B sales in Q2 and 21 percent in Q3.

The numbers follow Microsoft’s declaration last June to make the Windows Phone the most popular operating system for B2B players within a year, according to Windows Phone UK director Leila Martine. At the time, Martine highlighted Apple’s expensive options and weak security for B2B users.

Apple, however, remains the B2B market’s top choice, and reported 29 percent of B2B sales in 2014’s Q3. And with the company’s release of Apply Pay, the market is eyeing if – and when – the mobile payment service will infiltrate the B2B market, further securing Apple’s dominance in the business-to-business arena.

But if Microsoft perseveres with its trend, the balance of B2B power could soon shift.

In the UK market, industry experts predicted late last year that Microsoft would take the number one position as most-used mobile OS in the B2B industry by mid-2015. Several factors will determine the winner, reports say, including an operating system’s ability to handle more data, the impact of BYOD and whether employees’ personal handsets will also serve to handle customer data, and how these devices can keep that data secure for businesses and their clients.