“The growth of Macintosh desktop clients in enterprises will be more of a hindrance to Linux desktop growth than Windows, one analyst firm says in a recent report,” Phil Hochmuth reports for Network World.

Hochmuth reports, “Gartner says the increasing popularity of Apple’s desktop operating system in some enterprises could come at the expense of Linux desktops. Popular marketing and advertising campaigns for Macs has the machines on the minds of some corporate computer users, while Linux desktops are still somewhat obscure.”

“Several factors still hold Apple back on enterprise desktops. It does not license its OS X operating system to other hardware vendors. The consumer-oriented focus of the interface and applications is a turnoff for IT administrators, as well as the lack of IT management tools. But Gartner says these machines will find their way into enterprises through the ‘back door,’” Hochmuth reports.

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: As covered in the full article, the real problem for Mac and Linux is that many organizations have sold their souls to Microsoft by creating and/or using Windows-only programs and developing Internet Explorer-only web apps. Unfortunately many companies have so shackled themselves to Windows, they have no idea how to even begin to extricate themselves. Of course, since Macs can also run Windows, Apple has given them the ability to transition at their own pace if – and this is a very big “if,” as job security and staffing levels are a concern to the IT types – if they will accept Apple’s gift of freedom.

Note to CEOs: your IT department should not be making final hardware and software purchasing decisions. They should be supporting your company’s technology needs. You should get independent viewpoints (find people who recommend Macs and make them explain why) and retain the decision-making role for yourselves. Don’t settle for Windows-only shackles. A marked increase in productivity and reliability for your company is there for the taking. You can get Macs and seamlessly integrate them into your business – even if all you do at first is run Windows on them. You can explore Mac OS X and better ways of doing things according to your own timeline (hint: start by using Keynote instead of PowerPoint for your presentations and watch your audiences perk up). Just don’t expect your IT people to ever recommend Apple, as they may have ulterior motives for sticking with Microsoft.

Start exploring here: http://www.apple.com/business/

Mac business and vertical markets software: http://guide.apple.com/uscategories/business.lasso

Related articles:
Computerworld: Enterprise decision-makers should consider migrating to Mac OS X and Apple hardware – December 21, 2006
Apple’s Mac means business – December 18, 2006
Hands on: Parallels Desktop for Mac in a business setting – December 10, 2006
InfoWorld: Apple’s Mac OS X platform deserves good, hard look by enterprise – September 22, 2006
Prejudice keeps Apple Mac out of the enterprise – September 01, 2006
Boot Camp: Apple’s Trojan horse into the enterprise market? – April 05, 2006