Apple Gains New Business Oriented App/Service For Mac OS X

by , 11:30 AM EDT, June 12th, 2001

NetObjects has announced support for Mac OS X under NetObjects Matrix. NetObjects Matrix is a set of online services and tools designed to help small businesses offer an online presence and includes list management, scheduling, tracking, search, and site promotion. This marks the first time the company has offered Mac support since the early days of its NetObjects WYSIWYG site editor in the late 1990s. According to NetObjects:

NetObjects today announced that its new NetObjects Matrix platform, announced last week, will support the Apple Macintosh, including support for the advanced operating system, Mac OS X.

NetObjects is making a strong push into the Macintosh market with NetObjects Matrix, a next-generation platform of Web Services. The NetObjects Matrix open, component-based interfaces allow NetObjects to register and integrate third-party Web Services seamlessly into the Web site building and hosting process -- giving small businesses the ability to "mix and match" Web Services to create a truly tailored e-business solution. The NetObjects Matrix Web Services are delivered to small businesses by hardware companies, ISPs, hosting companies, telecommunication companies and major brands that license the NetObjects Matrix technology.

"Mac OS X combines a powerful UNIX-based foundation with the Mac's ease-of-use to deliver superior performance, unprecedented stability and powerful Internet features that make the Mac the ideal platform for Web development," said Ron Okamoto, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "We're excited that NetObjects has brought its new Matrix platform to Mac OS X and is now part of the growing list of Mac OS X applications."

"With the success of the Mac, there has been an increase in the demand for products like ours to support the platform," said Mark Patton, executive vice president, products and services, NetObjects. "We have great synergy with Apple, as the Mac appeals to so many small businesses, and NetObjects solutions are developed with the small business end-user in mind."

NetObjects Matrix includes the industry's first Web-based WYSIWYG Web site builder, providing unmatched ease of use, unlike first-generation online site building solutions that rely on the user to fill out forms to create a Web presence. In addition, NetObjects modular output technology supports creation of Web sites that can be viewed in browsers, wireless devices and submitted to leading marketplaces and directories all with one click.

You can find out more about NetObjects Matrix Builder and the NetObjects Matrix Platform at the comapny's Web site.

The Mac Observer Spin:

This is a significant development, even if only from a symbolic standpoint. Apple's market share in the business market is very low, and this is in part due to a perception that there isn't enough software, or Macs aren't serious comptuers, etc; take your pick of reasons, but almost all of them are perception issues among non-Mac users. These services being offered by NetObjects are pretty serious tools for businesses, and the company's endorsement for OS X helps add to the credibility of Apple's new operating system. In a world where perception is reality for most people, this credibility boost is important.

The practical side of this is, once again, that these are in fact serious tools for business. This is a big deal for Mac based businesses. Let's face it, though the Mac is the best choice for many, if not most businesses, that is not because of the wealth of software and service offerings we have available to us. The Mac is a great solution because of its ease of use and stability, and the rest of it comes from our determination to use the tools at hand to get our work done. Step forward to a world where there are just as many services and products available for the Mac as there are for Windows today; that's the crux of the matter: One of the biggest things that Mac OS X offers to the Mac community is acceptance into the world of business, including enterprise-level business. This announcement from NetObjects marks the next step of that journey.

NetObjects