CIOs Weigh Mobile Options as Platforms Experience Power Struggle

As a number of experienced chief information officers know, adapting to the latest innovations is a never-ending job. For instance, even if information technology professionals have managed to develop mobile applications for their businesses, there is no saying for sure that those solutions are going to stay relevant for long. With the recent power struggle between mobile platform providers, CIOs who have already outfitted their companies with cutting edge tools could be reconsidering their decision.Although there may be one clear-cut winner in the world of mobile platforms at one point in time, all of that can change in an instant. For this reason, CIOs who have already worked with their teams to develop in-depth apps to meet their businesses’ mobile needs may find that they have to mix it up in light of certain advancements – or a lack thereof, in some cases.Blackberry falls as Windows soarsAccording to ComputerWeekly, a prime example of a shift in powers can be seen with BlackBerry and Windows. It is not breaking news  that BlackBerry has been making a concerted effort to salvage itself, employing a variety of strategies to boost its appeal and keep afloat. One of the approaches that this corporation took to redeem itself and drive its sales is to invest its resources into specific areas, mastering those so that it did not spread itself too thin. An area that received an extra amount of attention was BlackBerry’s smartphone division.Despite investing a great deal of time and money in re-establishing itself as a leader in the mobile community, releasing both the Z10 and the QWERTY Q10, the company’s products were not as well received by IT professionals as BlackBerry had hoped. ComputerWeekly explained that businesses decided to shy away from the mobile platform this past year, which led to significant losses in revenue.While many CIOs relinquished their BlackBerry platform and all the apps created for it as soon as their contracts had expired, IT departments may have been left with a mobile void to fill. Because of this, companies have been searching for replacements, finding them on a platform that a share of experts may have underestimated: Windows.Low costs make CIOs Microsoft-friendlyApple and Android remain leaders of the mobile pack, but some CIOs may favor these platforms for consumer use rather than corporate. For business purposes, a number of IT professionals have deemed Windows to be a promising option for them to employ in lieu of BlackBerry, particularly due to its cost-efficiency. Supported by the fact that a wide array of companies already rely on Microsoft programs throughout their operations, moving to a Windows platform and implementing devices to carry out corporate functions is a logical step for these departments to take.If IT executives are thinking about switching to Windows when it comes to their organizations’ mobility, they should be careful not to make a rash decision and adopt this platform without considering the potential cons associated with this choice. Boy Genius Report explained that despite the rapid and widespread adoption of Windows’ mobile devices, there is still a significant so-called “app gap” that could leave businesses without the tools that they want in order to help them overhaul their companies.Reservations prompted by Windows “app gap”At the moment, Microsoft is still moderately new to the mobile game, which means that it has a great deal of catching up to do. Competing platforms that have already earned their popularity, such as iOS and Android, have had ample time to have developers work their magic and create apps for these mediums. Now that Microsoft is becoming a prominent player, it is actually trying to fuel rapid development, offering developers substantial incentives to encourage them to convert their software so that it can function on Windows devices.Additionally, because Apple and Android have already established themselves as the major mobile hitters, they may continue to be developers’ first choices for future revolutionary apps. As CIOs decide which platform they are going to use for their businesses’ solutions, they should weigh the financial savings that they could experience against any issues they may encounter in terms of being able to use the latest and most innovative apps possible.