Will Microsoft alienate the business market with Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live integration?

August 22, 2010 | By Surur

right-way-wrong-way An article on GigaOm (republished in part by JKontherun) claims the Windows Phone 7 story of the week, the great Xbox Live integration in Windows Phone 7, would in fact alienate “much of its business audience to pursue what may be a small niche of hardcore, community-minded gamers.”

Of course the analysis is flawed from the start by a poor understanding of Xbox Live games on Windows Phone (largely casual, turn based games which will appeal much more to the average user than the Halo fanatic), so challenging it on the facts is not necessary.

The sentiment is however interesting. We all know that Windows Phone 7 includes some enterprise support, but it is true that the strong Xbox brand stands a chance of overshadowing the other elements of the OS. It is possible that the Windows Phone will be called the Xbox phone, and I have already seen articles this week implying as much (e.g. Blorge’s Windows phone 7 is a handheld Xbox).

The question is however if this is a bad thing. Microsoft is clearly going after the consumer market with Windows Phone 7, with some business on the side, and the fact is that the last few years demonstrated that it is the consumer market where the growth is at present, and that, unlike in the past, it is not business devices which cross over into the consumer market, but the other way around, with the iPhone and Android devices being perfect examples of these.

So I say, if Windows Phone 7 is to be called a handheld Xbox, I am ready to jump in.

Do our readers agree? Let us know below.

About Surur

Site Admin and Windows Phone enthusiast, he has been using Windows Mobile devices since before they were called PocketPC’s. He is currently sporting a HTC 7 Trophy.

Tagged enterprise, software, windows phone 7, xbox live

Guest

The GigaOm article is fundamentally flawed. If you don't want the Xbox Live experience, u don't have to use it! If you don't want it on your phone's start screen, just long press and close it. It will still be in the app-list, but thats no different than any other cellphone on the market.

What will allienate business customers is not being able to securily deploy in-built applications to just their employees' phone without having to add it to the marketplace (or without having to manage unique live IDs for each employee). Its not a great solution for business customers right now (that have in-built applications, that they want to keep private), but I'm sure MS will address this soon enough, maybe in the first round of updates or in v2. Ideally, there just needs to be a way to side-load apps. I really think that Android has the right approach of having a marketplace and the ability to sideload apps.

travis

I heard MSFT will have enterprise business market servers for "sideloading" officially. Though it is coming at a later date.

maxxorz

In some of the early keynotes about the Marketplace they talked about how businesses would be able to make and submit apps and keep them private. Sort of like beta testing apps.

Guest

I think MS should hand will have the ability to sideload apps, but since they want to try to preserve the experience of Windows 7 Phone…. they should make it a bit tricky. Just have a tool or a site you can do to to agree to side load apps and it will unlock that feature on the phone. That way customers can choose to go through the marketplace or to sideload apps. I think that most consumers will go through the marketplace (minus powerusers who will do both), but will allow the flexibility of business customers to side load apps.
Yevin

Microsoft knows that the business market is relatively small compared to the consumer market.

Microsoft has learned that Windows Phone 7 must concentrate on the consumer market.
http://www.facebook.com/chris.lynch.hp Chris Lynch

If the writer of the original article believes he is correct, then why the huge success of the iPhone and Andriod? While neither have a huge brand recognition as does Xbox Live, they still have a pretty big market of game apps. Yet, there are a ton of "professional" users that own one of the leaders in the mobile space. The article is a joke. The statements are a joke. WP7 will do just fine.

As Damián Esteves posted in the comments section, he should have done his homework before writing a bunch of garbage.

JPBelmondo

Maybe, but I don't have the feeling that companies chose iphone or Android for their employees. In all the companies I know they always chose Blackberry.
And I still believe WP7 will fail in the business market because too many essential features are missing at launch (multitasking, copy & paste, etc.) just because MS focused too much on XBox and Facebook.

G Yeo

Enterprises are always conservative. They don't jump to new things quickly. They will hold back and wait to see how Windows Phone 7 goes. So don't expect much enterprise adoption in the beginning.
Guest

@JPBelmondo lol…because multitasking and copy & paste across apps are essential in the enterprise space

WP7Follower

This already is the case – you can just unpin the xbox hub from your start screen
Jesse

That was seriously one of the worst, most ill informed articles I have read on Window Phone 7 yet. Can you imagine writing an article like that in school without the teacher giving you an F. Sometimes the internet is so irritating. I bet some people would even believe this misguided information since it comes off as being a factual piece when in fact nothing he is basing his statement on is even true. I really wish he would either fix his article or else add a disclaimer that he has no idea what he is talking about.

Surur

The worse part is that the GigaOM article is on GigaOM pro, meaning only paying subscribers can read it, meaning exactly the business men and CIO’s that would be approving new WP7 devices.

Jesse

Oh, and to your article haha.. I don't think Microsoft is alienating business users at all. Phones are so much different than most devices because it is on you at all times. There are so many utilities for it and entertainment is a big one. I have always felt entertainment in its different forms has always appealed to pretty much every age and stereotype. Ok, maybe not people that don't believe in electricity but you get what I mean. My 90 old grandma and my 4 year old nephew might not like the same things but you can bet they will have a good time playing a game together.
http://www.liveside.net kip

Before WP7 was called an Xbox phone, it was called a Zune phone, and neither and both are correct, of course. You don't have to game, or have a Zune Pass, to benefit from a Windows Phone. What WP7 is, however, above all things, is a MICROSOFT phone. Sure you can turn off Xbox, but if you don't use Bing, don't have a Zune Pass, don't have a Live ID, and don't use Office, WP7 is the wrong choice. MS is betting that the core of Office/Xbox users (ok, there isn't a core of Zune users ) will buy in, and that a larger audience, intrigued by Metro etc., will follow the MS path. Will it happen? Can't wait to find out
tombow

Most analysis doesn’t truly understand most of the garbage they regurgitate; they thrive on giving people advice/analysis void of any objectivity and in-depth research of any sort. No wonder our financial markets around the world are in such piss poor condition because of these morons and the even more clueless people that follow their advise.
djguapo

I agree w/Surur: Is this a bad thing? I think not, bring it on!
Northerngeek

Although I agree with everybody else, and think that you can have your cake and eat it too, I will say this: First impressions count for a lot, look at Vista, flawed in the beginning and a very solid OS after the service packs… businesses wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Although Microsoft *can* be a success in business sectors their chances would be much better if they weren't missing some features from day one. They talk about sideloading, exhange improvements and office improvements coming soon, which is good but sooner is better than later. Overall though man is irrational and if the consumer experience is good enough so will sales be, besides MS has to release this year otherwise it really may be too late to play the game!
JPBelmondo

But it's true. For a lot of people WP7 it's mainly Facebook and XBox.

Though, there are still a lot of people (and not only businessmen) who are totally not interested in social networks and games. It's my case.

Also I feel terribly sorry that MS took so much time to energy to include Facebook/Xbox in the OS, while in the mean time so many essential features have been forgotten (multitasking, copy & paste, etc, etc).

Also, I know that in my Company they will not ready to adopt WP7 because of THIS.
The image of WP7 is not very serious.
And I like Blackberry a lot because RIM did not try to copy iPhone and, on the contrary, remains a professional phone.

chinch

Facebook/xbox does in no way limit the capacity of WP7 for *any* user who place no such value in them.

OTOH basically almost everything about RIM devices is offensive to modern "corporate workers" who must use these devices 24/7 over the next year or more.

Right now it's just a transition time and people can't grasp change until it's tangible & has already happened. Once WP7 ships by next summer you'll be laughing at your own absurdity on this issue

chinch

Laughably bad headline & article (what is readable anyways) coming from another blog shilling for members/subscriptions/impressions.

Yeah, corporate will shun pleasing it's workers with a WP7 device with great sharepoint, office, exchange (multiple exchange accounts), etc. support and that is fully manageable. ROTFLMAO. All because it can play games and load facebook contacts too.

IQs are certainly dropping.

Just how stupid do bloggers think it's readers really are?