Yesterday I went to a One to One tutorial and got my first glimpse of Apple's spreadsheet program called Numbers. There were some things about Numbers that I think Excel is better at. First, there isn't the collaboration support that Excel has. You can't make comments about comments and from the first look I had there wasn't a compare documents feature that Excel has. Because Numbers doesn't use a grid but a "workspace" I don't think it would be great for spreadsheets with thousands of entries that corporations or scientists might use. But...for the other 95% of the people who own a computer it is an easy to use program that integrates well with a Mac and the other programs in the iWork suite like Pages and Keynote. In fact, the iWork suite would probably be all that the average person and small business would need.
Once you get the hang of the visual "Mac way" of doing things all the programs in the iWork suite are very easy to use. But the rub is that they really aren't ready for prime time in a work environment. I really don't see an Attorney and a Legal Secretary who work on documents all day in a collaborative environment using Pages. I don't see a very large corporation's accounting department using Numbers. I don't see a sales person using Keynote who had to import old PowerPoint slides and data from Excel or Word. I do see someone using iWork from home to manage their personal affairs or a small business. Individuals and small businesses are small and nimble enough to accept change and grow. The first thing people have to adopt is the Mac operating system itself. The next thing they have to adopt is the iWork suite. Those aren't easy steps for large corporations to make but they are easier for individuals to do. Wouldn't it be easier for individuals and corporations to adopt both at the same time?
When I bought my MacBook I wasn't sure if I was going to use any of the iLife programs like iPhoto. With a little bit of training in my One to One sessions I can now see how powerful these "simple" and "free" programs are. But the iLife suite was included with my MacBook. Does every new Mac user buy the iWork suite? They probably do not. Many people who need a productivity suite like Microsoft Office just buy Microsoft Office for Mac 2011. I think iWork would have more of a presence if it was included as part of the initial purchase of a Mac. Mac users would just be used to using iWork if it was include with their MacBook.
Right now probably very few people use iWork. Apple should make a version of iWork for Microsoft operating systems like they do for Safari and iTunes. Make it a low cost alternative to Microsoft Office and get people used to thinking the "Mac way." The model worked for iTunes, why not for iWork? If students, people at home and small business used iWork then larger businesses might take a chance in the future to switching over to iWork and maybe even Macs. But right now iWork is a small slice of the productivity software pie. All of my tutors on all the iWork programs talked about importing documents from Microsoft Office but said the documents could only be exported using the old Microsoft formats and not the new xml based ones. So on top of a familiarity problem, because of so few users, there is also a file compatibility problem with Microsoft Office. That makes it very hard for large businesses to switch over who have large numbers of documents.
I really like the visual and "three dimensional" way of thinking while using the iWork and iLife programs. But with compatibility problems and only a few users I don't see a bright future. Now if the iPhone, iPod, and iPad versions of iLife and iWork programs take off who knows? Maybe Microsoft will have to worry about compatibility and low number of user problems. But why try to convert the world with such two dimensional thinking? Why do software and hardware companies always try to trample their competition? The attitude of "if you want what we have then you have to be locked in our world" is so 1980's. Microsoft is "invading" the Apple world with Microsoft Office for Mac so why can't Apple invade the Microsoft world with iWork? Why can't Apple make their iWork programs compatible with all Microsoft file formats? Maybe Apple wants to win a point while Microsoft keeps making money with the corporate world?
Unfortunately I was excited about a set of programs that I will probably have to put on the shelf . For me it was a great learning experience and provided me some useful information. If there is an iWork user that needs help with converting documents or learning the Microsoft Office Suite I will be able to help. I will know where they are coming from and maybe I can make their transition easier at work. But right now, people who work in an office will be using a Microsoft product for now. That is unfortunate because iWork might have what it takes to give Microsoft Office a run for its money.
