“Macintosh computers have long had proponents among business users, such as those in the art department, for instance. But in terms of pure numbers, Macs barely make the charts. Still, disillusionment with the Windows platforms is motivating some CIOs to consider a radical move: an enterprise-wide switch from Windows to Macintosh,” Shamus McGillicuddy reports for SearchCIO.com.
MacDailyNews Take: Radical? “Smart” would be better description.
McGillicuddy continues, “Dale N. Frantz, CIO of Tacoma, Wash.-based Auto Warehousing Co., is working on a proof-of-concept project with his company’s home-grown ERP system. The system is built on Microsoft’s SQL server technology, but he’s testing whether a front-end application would allow Macs to work with the SQL-based system.”
“Frantz has seen some success in the early stage of the process. But proof of concept in a test environment doesn’t necessarily prove it can work enterprise-wide,” McGillicuddy reports. “Auto Warehousing, the largest automobile processing company in North America, receives, accessorizes and ships to dealerships 5.5 million cars a year. A lot is at stake if he switches to Mac.”
McGillicuddy reports, “Frantz said not only would migrating to the Vista platform mean replacing every computer in his shop, but Microsoft also “seems to feel that each subsequent operating system is worth a greater amount of money than the previous one.” If the cost of the operating system continues to increase, that’s of huge concern to Frantz. ‘Do I continue to throw money toward Microsoft or begin to look to something else?'”
“‘We see some things we could gain by moving iMac equipment onto the shop floors. The ability to do some videoconferencing, with cameras and microphones built in. We see some other technologies emerging that might be able to offset the cost of hardware, plus we have to buy new equipment to upgrade to Vista anyway,'” Frantz said,” McGillicuddy reports.
McGillicuddy reports, “Frantz said that although his staff members are enthusiastic about Macs, they’re anxious about whether this makes them obsolete. Staffers are worried about training and support. The network administrators are troubled about potential interpretability issues. Developers are concerned because they don’t know how to code for Apple Inc.’s software. ‘People are a little bit nervous,’ he said. ‘I try my best to reassure them and tell them I’ll bring anyone along for the ride that wants to come along for that ride.'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: Slowly, but surely they awaken.
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@ ABQ Peter
“tacoma, washington: bill gates could go over on his lunch hour and see how things are going.”
You’ve obviously never driven in I-5/405 traffic. Then again, Bill might have a jetpack or a hovercraft…
“Right in Redmonds backyard.”
You have to live here to know how funny that sounds.
MacDailyNews – “Radical” is the right word for these people. Most enterprise users have no conception of the Mac world. As long time Windows users this would be a big step for them. Of course it would be a smart move, but I can understand why they would be concerned or apprehensive
This is not how to win friends and influence people, but with Microsoft, it’s par for the course. From the link:
“Another big turnoff: strong-arm sales tactics. Last year, Microsoft notified Frantz that he might have some improperly licensed software products in his environment. Microsoft wanted to send some analysts to search through the company for any license violations.
“Frantz was surprised because he kept meticulous records of his purchases and license. He did an internal audit and shared the results with Microsoft, but Redmond wasn’t satisfied. Eventually Frantz turned the matter over to his lawyer, who informed him the accusations were likely some sort of sales tactic for a Microsoft asset management product.
” ‘We considered ourselves a good and loyal customer,’ Frantz said. ‘That left a bad taste in our mouth.’ “
The biggest issue these guys might have is the total lack of support from Apple. That might surprise you, but Apple does NOT support any networking interoperability issues as I discovered when I had problems integrating Apple desktops in my Windows network.
The Apple forums are very useful and I was able to solve my problems eventually, but for a business manager who is used to picking up the phone and having a problem logged, responded to and resolved in a timely fashion, the “laissez-faire” support environment of community forums came as quite a shock.
If Apple wants to sell Macs into the corporate world they will have to beef up support.
This is a good example of why Apple os focusing on certain areas and not trying to take over the world right now. Growing a business is not easy – so managing growth and not over-committing resources will be a major headache for Apple right now – as we have seen with the delay in Leopard.
Married.
Works for Adobe/Has Name in Credits.
Likes Chics.
Likes kids and works with them sometimes.
Fond of ^_^
Careful with the personal info, yeah?
“If Apple wants to sell Macs into the corporate world they will have to beef up support.”
Does this have to do with Apple expanding their workforce, which they seem hesitant to do (as per a recent MDN about VPs and not enough people in the workforce)?
“We didn’t need it anymore, so we cut one set of guys and let er drop.”
I would have paid to see that.
@Jay…
Switching as an end user and switching as a developer are two very different things. End users can pick up the Mac’s intuitiveness very quickly. Developers have to learn an entirely new programming paradigm, with very different tools from the Microsoft way of doing things.
Still, this is very doable. Train the developers over time or hire new ones familiar with the Mac. Begin replacing MS SQL Server with MySQL or another more “open” database. Deploy Macs to the development teams first, do your prototyping and testing, then roll out the finished product. Run the two environments side by side if you need to for a while. Then cut off the head of the snake and say goodbye to Microsoft forever.
MW: “changes” You know they’re coming.
“We didn’t need it anymore, so we cut one set of guys and let er drop.
I would have paid to see that.”
Ditto. Throw in a few comfy lawn chairs, a six-pack and some pork rinds and you’ve got some awesome entertainment. I like to see old buildings get “blowed up real good” too. (Props to SCTV.) I watched the old Atlanta stadium and the Omni Coliseum get razed.
Thorin and TMF
A buddy of mine filmed it and another we dropped and had both on a web page for awhile (back in ’03). Don’t think he still has it, though….
I watched the old Atlanta stadium and the Omni Coliseum get razed.
AWESOME (Go Saints)
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Don’t think he still has it, though….
BUMMER
Now that’s a bonafide wow! Do it! Do it! You are not obsolete, you’re welcome… Silly fellows!
Apple should be willing to subsidize transitions for high profile companies. Small businesses can transition fine, but large businesses have so much more Windows inertia. S Jobs should be having Starbucks with Dale Frantz to help things along.
Too bad TT. It would be cool at least on TV.
Lol!
@ SydneyStephen
You’re totally right about the support issue. That’s going to be a big deal as the market share takes off.
Hey, come to think of it, this auto outfit will need Mac desktop support.
And that would cut my commute in half…
Anyone have Dale N. Frantz’s phone number???
-c
MW: ‘natural’ (seduction)
Apple would do well to send some guys to Tacoma tout de suite!
They should rewrite their apps in REALBasic. It runs on Mac, Win and Linux, creates UB code plus Win and Linux and supports SQL. Safest solution I can see. Keeps their IT department happy until they finish testing.