“In a nod to how finicky people have become about the gadgets they use, software company Citrix Systems Inc. is rolling out a new program for its workers: BYOC – Bring Your Own Computer,” Rasha Madkour reports for The Associated Press.
“Employees get a $2,100 stipend to buy a laptop and three-year service plan. In exchange for getting a computer with the specs they want – whether it’s a wide screen, a light weight or ultra-fast processing – the workers essentially take on the company’s technology purchasing and maintenance responsibilities. The 200 staffers who have signed up since the pilot program began this month say it’s a deal they’re happy to take,” Madkour reports.
“It appears Citrix is the first large company to take such a leap, at least publicly. Steve Kleynhans, an analyst at Gartner Inc. (IT), said other technology companies have started similar pilot programs but are doing so under the radar,” Madkour reports.
“For Citrix, the program is a way of promoting its ‘virtualization’ technology, which among other things lets companies run software programs they need – like SAP for time sheets and Microsoft Exchange for e-mail – in a central data center. Employees access the applications by logging in remotely, but the programs and potentially confidential information in them are never downloaded to the workers’ own laptops,” Madkour reports.
Madkour reports, “Citrix’s chief information officer, Paul Martine, said the company’s leaders asked themselves: ‘Our technology does this – why aren’t we doing this? I’m either crazy or this is going to be the trend of the future.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Here’s to the crazy ones!
Seriously, though, the more people who use Macs, the more people there are who won’t settle for being trapped on Windows for 8+ hours a day. For that reason, we believe that “BYOC” is going to be the trend of the future.
Madkour continues, “There are some restrictions. Citrix is requiring that employees use either Windows or Mac operating systems, have antivirus software and buy a three-year, full-service warranty so that tech support from the manufacturer can be on hand within 24 hours and supply a loaner if needed.”
Full article, in which both photos used to illustrate the story are of employees showing off their newly purchased Apple MacBooks, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brian” for the heads up.]
My dad uses a Citrix client on his Mac mini to access MLS (for real estate) because the MLS system requires Internet Explorer. It is not the most efficient, smoothly running software but it works. Sort of.
everytime I see that ad I get a tingle down by spine
This might be the only way anti-virus software makers can sell their product for the Mac.
Too bad most Citrix apps work like total crap on the Mac. Maybe if more employees use their own Mac, they will take a little more care in development for the Mac platform.
I did some of the earliest work on “thin client” computing for my government agency more than ten years ago. Echoing “Chuck”, I ran a remote desktop client from my Solaris box to our Citrix Winframe/Metaframe servers, and later setup Terminal Services for researchers that needed the horsepower of a central server.
I also recall how Microsoft put the squeeze on Citrix during the transition from NT 3.51 to NT 4.0. Citrix stock price fell, only partly recovering after a deal was reached. But it cost Citrix some of its technology. That’s how NT 4 got “Terminal Services”. It will be poetic justice to see Macs flood into Citrix.
For $2100, you can build at least twice the desktop machine you can get with a $2100 laptop. Only use craptops when mobility is absolutely necessary.
I use Citrix software to access our MLS system from my iMac – our MLS is windows/IE only. The latest version is greatly improved over earlier versions. Having more macs at their company can only be a good thing. Now if we can just get http://www.rapattoni.com/ to break free from having a web-based service tied to windows/IE.
@Bill
What do you do where you need the power of a desktop all the time? I have NEVER come across an instance where my MBP was so grossly underpowered that I wished I was on a desktop.
@Bill,
No one here is interested in your inability to earn a decent wage.
Hell, I bought my 1st laptop (a $3500 ThinkPad, and a loooooong time ago) from earnings from my paper route, so just STFU.
I’ll buy whatever I want, whenever I want, thank you very much.
I would be interested to hear if anyone on the Mac is running the XenApp to use Outlook 2003 or 2007. My IT boss is pressuring me to get off Entourage and find a solution to get Outlook on the Mac… without needing a MS Windows license on each machine.
I tried crossover, but we are unhappy with the results. Outlook 2007 barely works, and Outlook 2003 almost works, but there are a lot of bugs.
The Dude abides.
“Tech support from the manufacturer can be on hand within 24 hours and supply a loaner if needed.”
As far as I knew, Apple DIDN’T provide this type of service. I didn’t realize that Apple goes on-site and I didn’t realize that Apple supplies loaner computers. This is very common with all other hardware companies, but with Apple? Can somebody please point me to somewhere on Apple’s website that shows me that Apple does this?
@Bill, I use a 17″ MacBook Pro CoreDuo (not a Core2Duo, a CoreDuo), with Creative Suite, at the moment I’m working on a 1,500 page A3 InDesign Manual for Thunder Horse, an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s flying along, I’m having no problems at all.
“everytime I see that ad I get a tingle down by spine”
‘Everytime I see O-Bummer I get a tingle down my leg,’ Chris Matthews, ‘and maybe even in my shorts!’
In our organization (hospital healthcare), the physicians just out of med school have demanded support for Macs which has prompted our Information Services group to have a few Macbook Pros in the hands of techs. Those individuals use the Citrix environment for Windows only programs.
I have spoken to all of them and they already agree that the Macs require less maintenance. They are all completely converted to the Mac now. I didn’t ask if they worry about their jobs if Macs were introduced company wide.
The movement has begun, and more companies will have to support Macs to support business customers and partners.
The only thing that kind of sucks is those employees are still stuck using Windows, since Citrix will just be connecting in to a Windows server and running a Windows session, but still, it means the end user doesn’t have to deal with Windows support locally, and can still use Mac OS X and OS X apps for personal and work use where desired.
I use Citrix for my companie’s remote access, but unfortunately I still have a PC on my desk at work. I honestly could get most of my work done from home on my 15″ MBP connected to a 24″ widescreen monitor. It really is computing nirvana to have my work Citrix Windows session up in one virtual workspace, then with the click of a Dock icon, I’m reading my personal email and surfing the web in Safari and chatting with people in iChat, or having the Citrix Windows session running full screen on the 24″ monitor while Mail and iChat run on the 15″ screen below it.
@Bill
I doubt they’d let employees build their PCs. Where can they get the required three year service contract? Besides hauling an desktop (and monitor) to work everyday (hence the BYOC programme) is just a little impractical.
I prefer my iMac for home use… personally. A Macbook or Macbook Pro for traveling is great, but for regular continuous 12 hour a day use, no thanks.
I guess I shouldn’t have said craptops as Macs are amazing laptops. What I’m saying is, in a few years, lets see you upgrade the graphics card, processor, or add another hard drive (without having to spend about $100 on an external). Although I have seen a few laptops where the proc isn’t soldiered on, usually you can’t. After a few years all laptops become portable type-writers, whereas, with a desktop, you can at least salvage the case, power supply, cables, etc for a future machine. With a laptop it’s all waste. Desktops are a lot cheaper and easier to upgrade…
I use both Outlook running as a published app and even in a “full desktop”. It works great, no performance problems. The only problem is that it doesn’t integrate into your host OS. So, if you want to send a Word document that you’re working on locally, there’s no easy way to pipe it over to Outlook and attach it – at least not in our version.
Bill:
“Absolutely necessary”?
If you work for a large company with several buildings on a campus or one that leases space on several floors of a tower or you have to travel frequently, do you unplug your desktop computer and drag it around with you to meetings and conferences?
@Bill
I see what you are saying. Yet the cost of upgrading the internal drive of a MBP or MB is pretty easy and cheap. The same for upgrading the optical drive. My wife has been able to keep a 500 mhz TiBook working through some basic upgrades and simple maintenance. Though unless one really needs that kind of expandability of a Mac Pro it is really over kill. I travel frequently and work with Logic and Final Cut on a MBP. I can tell you my MBP does the job just fine, and is powerful enough to keep up with whatever upgrades Apple has in store for me.
… as an IT pro I see this trend as a disaster to our honorable profession. Nobody would bother to ask us what computer _we_ think is good for the workers. It is also a nightmare to maintain such a diversity of machines…
in a few years, lets see you upgrade the graphics card, processor, or add another hard drive
In a few years, most companies just buy another computer. Most companies keep machines for 3 or 4 years, and then replace them. More often for those employees who need the latest in graphics, more disk, etc. Most employees only e-mail, spreadsheet, word process, etc., and even then only at the most basic of levels. The latest technology they do not need. (Except to run the latest MS bloatware to do what the used to do comfortably with less of a computer.) Also, there are tax implications in investing in new technology.
Bill, it’s time to move out of your parents’ basement and join the real world.
Tell IT to have all of the Windows stations convert to Apple’s Mail program instead.
When they says that’s impossible ask them why they think getting Outlook to work on a Mac is possible.
If Microsoft is all about Enterprise, why isn’t Outlook ported over to the Mac? You’d think they were trying to protect a monopoly or some such thing.
@Bill: “For $2100, you can build at least twice the desktop machine you can get with a $2100 laptop. Only use craptops when mobility is absolutely necessary.”
For $2100 I can buy two MacBooks. My PowerMac hasn’t been turned on in a week. I use my MacBook almost exclusively, even sitting at home in my easy chair. No problems.