Wednesday InfoWorld published an article about Windows Phone 7 and Silverlight serving as enterprise business applications. The author points out that both platforms were seemingly geared for entertainment purposes during the MIX10 conference in Las Vegas, focusing on the music player, photo storage, the electronic diary, even gaming applications.
But what about the business exec or graphic designer? Is this device merely an answer to the iPhone? Unlike with Windows Mobile, many businesses see a great potential in Windows Phone 7 as well as Silverlight, unfortunately the enterprise business applications will come over time.
Jonathan Zuck, president of the Association for Competitive Technology told InfoWorld said that "fun applications" are what draws people to the devices--the work-related aspect comes later. "It's a natural extension of the other things they're doing with Xbox and with Zune and with Windows Media Center PCs," he said.
Despite the entertainment value, Windows Phone 7 and Silverlight are definitely "business ready." One developer said that Silverlight could be used to create web applications including spreadsheets or an interface to a financial application. Another software company applauds Microsoft for Windows Phone 7, saying that from a business standpoint, the previous OS (Windows Mobile) was lagging in terms of performance.
"There were myriad platforms, myriad screen resolutions--and it was always a challenge," said Bl Software president Darek Danielewski. "The fact that Microsoft decided to give a complete overhaul for the Windows phone, that gives me hope."
