[hnlmorg]

> If Apple Business were a real revenue source, if they charged luxury prices for a luxurious business support experience, they could pay for developers to fix their stuff.

Apple can already easily afford those developers. They’re not exactly running at a loss ;)

Plus given how each new iteration of macOS and iOS is a steady step backwards for usability, I don’t have a huge amount of trust in their abilities to fix Business if it had become a strategic product tomorrow.

[matthewfcarlson]

The reality is that every business unit needs to justify its existence and when asking for headcount, it’s easier to point to a revenue stream you’re tied to rather than “we help sell some things to businesses”

[hnlmorg]

I don’t disagree with that. But equally most business units in Apple are not tied to revenue streams. From R&D though to developers for other non-subscription software. And that’s before you then factor in the non-delivery team (eg finance, HR, lawyers, etc).

So it’s not like a review stream is a requirement.

Moreover, even back when they did have back office tooling as a revenue stream (eg OSX Server), Apple still left it to slowly rot before finally discontinuing it.

So I just don’t think this is something anyone’s Apple cares enough about. If they did, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation to begin with.

[raw_anon_1111]

If that were the case, the only business units that would ever be get funding would be the hardware sales.

Even with AWS I doubt many of the service teams make enough money to justify their existence alone.

[carlosjobim]

Are you sure Apple does their accounting in that way?

[xp84]

Do you have a reason to believe they don’t? We’re not talking about some weird or obscure custom, it’s just basic business ideas.

[robotresearcher]

Apple famously doesn't have conventional business units.

https://www.apple.com/careers/pdf/HBR_How_Apple_Is_Organized...

[xp84]

Thanks for this. For someone like me who hasn't worked inside Apple, it's very useful information.

[carlosjobim]

I think the burden of evidence is with you in this case. It doesn't make sense for Apple to do their accounting with such a method.