Producers of productivity software are changing the user interfaces of their software:
To make things work with (their own preferred) cloud storage service instead of the computer file system
To copy user friendly concepts from the world of consumer software to enterprise users. (What if Instagram would have used drop down menus?)
To make it even better because they can (“duplicate” is so much clearer than “save as”)
On an app-by-app basis this might be a good decision. The new user interface is definitely better than the one that originated in the 1990s on one of the first releases of Windows.
But there is a problem for the enterprise user: all applications start to look different. Wonder what would happen if car manufacturers start switching around the pedals and other basic inputs of vehicles…
Also, the use settings of a consumer and enterprise application are different. Fixing the numbers or details in an annual report or contract is different from posting your latest story.
SlideMagic has a radically different user interface when it comes to designing slides, but the basic file management controls are pretty traditional.
Photo by Marten Newhall on Unsplash