Microsoft vs. IBM and the iPad

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Mary-Jo Foley has written an interesting piece about Microsoft’s lack of attention on the iPad, seemingly more interested in the future of Windows-based tablet PCs. That’s certainly not a surprise on a number of levels, not least of which is the fact that Microsoft obviously has much more to gain from seeing widespread adoption of tablets running Windows than they do simply selling applications for an Apple product. Obviously, Microsoft is doing very well without supporting the iPad, given this week’s report of $5.4 billion in net income during the first quarter.

That said, the contrast between Microsoft and IBM in the context of their support for the iPad is notable.  At this week’s Information on Demand (#iodgc) conference, for example, the iPad was featured prominently in demonstrations of accessing backend databases, analytics tools and other capabilities focused on data management and access. IBM has performed substantial research on how people use tablets, smartphones, etc., including how they access them while in bed—many users, for example, keep their smartphone or iPad on their nightstand so that they can do a quick review of the next day’s activities before retiring, and so that they can get a quick view on overnight sales, email, etc. when they wake up—obviously activities for which the iPad is well suited.