Apple Declining, 10 Years Behind Microsoft in Security?

Apple has had quite an exciting year already. The iPhone is selling well and the iPad is still the best tablet on the market. The company has been getting a lot of coverage in the media for all it is achieving. But Forrester Research chief executive George Colony is not sold on the idea of Apple continuing to be a special tech company in the upcoming years.

Apple will decline in the post Steve Jobs era … When Steve Jobs departed, he took three things with him: 1) singular charismatic leadership that bound the company together and elicited extraordinary performance from its people; 2) the ability to take big risks, and 3) an unparalleled ability to envision and design products. Apple’s momentum will carry it for 24-48 months. But without the arrival of a new charismatic leader it will move from being a great company to being a good company

It may be true that Tim Cook is not as charismatic as Steve Jobs. But the jury is still out on how well he can run the company. After Steve Jobs passed away, many expected Apple to have enough ideas in the tank to continue introducing products for a few years. It is too early to write Apple off.

Some analysts may not be optimistic about Apple’s future. But that has not stopped hackers and cyber criminals from going after the platform. As Apple operating systems become more popular, the company will have to deal with more malware attacks. According to Kaspersky, Apple will have to step up its game in terms of security:

I think [Apple] are ten years behind Microsoft in terms of security… For many years I’ve been saying that from a security point of view there is no big difference between Mac and Windows. It’s always been possible to develop Mac malware … Apple is now entering the same world as Microsoft has been in for more than 10 years: updates, security patches and so on

Let’s not forget that the number of cyber criminals is on the rise. Apple may have to invest more into beefing up its platforms’ security systems but it is too early to be pessimistic about its chances.