“There’s been a lot of talk lately about how Apple is finally making big inroads into the enterprise. Most of the hubbub centers around a new study by Dimensional Research for JAMF Software, finding that use of Apple products in the enterprise has doubled in the past three years,” Fredric Paul writes for Network World. “The study – called Managing Apple Devices in the Enterprise: A Survey of IT Professionals—is a little fuzzy on calling out the various products, but most of that increase is no doubt due to the rise of the iPhone and iPad.”
“So what about the Macintosh in the enterprise?” Paul writes. “Is the expiration of Windows XP and the relative unpopularity of Windows 8 finally driving corporate America to the Mac? That would be big news, as the Mac’s enterprise penetration has traditionally languished below 10%.”
“From my perspective in the tech-crazy San Francisco Bay Area (home to Apple, of course, but also to Intel, HP, and other traditional tech vendors), Macs have cemented their position as standard-equipment at web companies large and small” Paul writes. “That’s true for one-person startups setting up shop in the local Starbucks, but also for the fast-growing midsize companies that are engine of the modern web economy. Perhaps more importantly, Macs also dominate at the titans of the web world, like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Seeing someone from these types of companies toting a Windows computer (or even a Microsoft Surface) is unusual enough to stick out like a sore thumb, and often engenders gentle ribbing.”
“Does that mean the Fortune 500 is about to ditch all their clunky old Windows laptops for sleek MacBook Airs? Not likely. Change comes slowly in large organizations,” Paul writes. “But the survey found that the biggest reason for Apple’s bigger role in the enterprise was employee choice, and BYOD policies may let more employees choose Macs.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The IT doofus gatekeepers are dying off and with them go the artificial walls that were keeping out superior computing solutions from Apple.
Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. – Steve Jobs
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The F500 literally run on inertia. Every manager there knows it, so they don’t change until literally forced to do so.
Forced change may come from the CEO or Pres. or competitors, but VPs are just supposed to keep the train running as job #1.
Apple literally forced a change with the iPHone/iPad simply because even the VPs flipped overnight to using something so easy, small and simple to use.
Why? The VPs COULD NOT ignore the outstanding abilities of these new products. The fact is a lot of desk jobs can be done with an iPad, but it will take a keyboard to do them efficiently and hence, Microsoft thinks they have ‘The Answer.’
The battle will now go on: iPad vs Surface.
Surface is a piece of shit and anyone who has used one knows it.
Then the battle may be short.
Tell that to Delta
What battle? The Surface is in it’s third iteration and still doesn’t sell enough to become statistically relevant.
Or make MS a profit.
Besides the Microsoft rubbish, the biggest barrier against Apple gear in the enterprise continues to be the database management suites from Oracle, etc. The developers haven’t bothered much with Mac compatibility.
My solution has always been BYOD, an Apple laptop. Gently massage the IT doofus by pointing out to him that he won’t have to support your Mac, poor determinedly ignorant baby. He’ll then roll over on his back and let you caress his tummy. Wear gloves.
We have SAP software that requires Internet Explorer to run. Is that BS or what?
Corporate use of a Mac? Here is the bottom line:
1) When I use my 27″ iMac all day long, about 40% of the time running windows applications, my eyes aren’t tired and I don’t feel worn out at the end of the day. Contrast this with my use of my windows laptop connected to 2- 24″ monitors- I’m worn out by the end of the day.
2) Generally the Mac takes care of “system” updates/backups and has very few problems. Even windows updates are handled better in the background under Parallels. In contrast, something “always goes wrong” at LEAST once a week on the win 7 laptop.
IT people are starting to realize this.
rp, the Win7-8 issues have resulted in a unique solution for my brother’s company. They are all windows except for a few people. But the Windows laptops were in a constant service mode, eating up a lot of lost productive hours and maintenance hours.
Solution: MacBook Air with Windows in Parallels or Boot Camp. Maintenance and hardware faults went to near zero.
They figure they will save the cost of the MBAirs with fewer hardware backups & increased productivity alone in around 18 months. The MBAirs have also lasted years longer than the WinLaptops = lowered amortized costs.
IT people have known this for years, but their jobs are tied to their expensive MCSEs and Cisco certifications.
Apple’s new OS X Yosemite features will hopefully get folks nagging their IT department to switch over.
Years ago, I wrote an article “A Mac in the Enterprise” that generated over 40,000 hits on Slashdot. Things have changed dramatically in that time frame.
Macs are no longer the rebel with blue dyed hair spikes but are the fashionable, hip corporate citizen that brings new insights and perspectives for a modern world.
As someone involved in enterprise software sales, the majority of prospects have a Mac and iOS requirement or you get eliminated from consideration.
No one in their right mind developing new software for businesses will forego Mac users. They do so at their own peril.
I thought it was carbon units invading (infesting) the Enterprise.