Mac Making Inroads in Corporate Computing? People are Waking Up.
I’ve long believed that one needs to expect the “impossible,” and if events in the financial markets over the past several months teach us anything is that the impossible is not only possible, it is inevitable. Consider corporate use of the Mac. This idea has been pooh-poohed at every turn, and such dismissive, pedestrian analysis by “analysts” has simply blown my mind. In fact, I wrote a post about six months ago titled Apple and the Enterprise: In 20 Years, “Who Would Have Thought…?”, where I challenged conventional thinking about Apple’s prospects in the enterprise and assessed the threat to PC-based platforms over time as being increasingly acute:
I know from my own experience in my company how this transformation
takes place. We started out being a Dell/Intel/Windows XP
Professional-based shop. Then our developers needed better machines,
several of whom had Macs at home, and requested hi-test Mac machines
for development. They loved them. Told everyone. Then anybody doing
graphics/visualization wanted a Mac. Then anybody in a client-facing
role who did presentations, online demos, etc. wanted one. Now pretty
much everybody has one. It has become “the” supported platform in my
company. And it happened in a stealthy, inside-out way, where a core of
passionate Mac users got the ball rolling, showed others how awesome it
was after which people were beating a path to my desk asking for one.So change can happen quickly within SMEs. Yeah, we’re not talking
about Deutsche Bank going Mac tomorrow, but as the PC user experience
degrades and/or requires new hardware, and as more and more grass-roots
Mac users begin speaking up, some change - material change - will
invariably take place. First in small, semi-autonomous groups. Then in
larger groups. And then it becomes viral. I saw this movie with the
Blackberry phone. Early adopters were supported by IT in a one-off,
kluge way, told others how awesome the device was, a wall of demand was
created, and finally the Wall Street firms caved and properly supported
the device on an enterprise-wide basis. The same thing can happen with
the Mac. And don’t tell me that change can’t happen and that Apple is
out of the enterprise game. Because it can. And because it’s not.
Really.
My analysis was based upon viral consumer use bleeding into the enterprise, chipping away at existing platforms and demanding new types of support until it becomes a full-fledged, fully-supported alternative.
Fast forward to today: Computerworld ran a story titled Macs on the network: Time to panic?, which approaches the threat to PC supremacy from a similar vantage point as my March 2007 post:
Yet as the consumer market begins to meld with the corporate world
even more, and employees expect to use their preferred gadget (and
operating system) for work and home life, the Mac could make inroads at
large corporations.The facts reveal a coming resurgence. Apple
sold 36% more Macs in the second quarter than the same quarter last
year. The company has sold more than 1 million iPhones and 110 million
iPods to date. There also just seems to be “something in the air” — or
at least the blogosphere — suggesting a Mac resurgence. Blogs such as
Engadget.com post about Apple constantly, and even IT analyst firms
that have usually downplayed the Mac as “niche” are talking about the platform in the corporate world again.“We expect that much of today’s IT infrastructure is going to be
turned upside down by the invasion of consumer technologies,” said Andrew Jaquith,
an analyst at Yankee Group Research Inc. in Boston. “Consumerization is
going to make IT’s job harder, and platforms like the Mac are going to
become increasingly common, in many cases in spite of the wishes of
management.”********************
If Jaquith and others are right, it’s the consumer who will bring the
platform into the corporate world and, it seems, force network managers
to support the operating system.
Consumers driving change in the corporate world. Not really surprising, since corporations are made up of - what? - consumers. And if those consumers have more fulfilling experiences using different types of hardware and software at home than at work, they will push for change at every opportunity. And corporations can only fight against this rising tide for so long, especially when a change might involve extreme short-term pain but bring a host of long-term benefits like better usability, better integration across programs and enhanced stability. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - listen to the people. They know how best to do their jobs and complete their tasks. And the computer of choice for an increasing number of these people is the Mac. And corporate adoption is simply the next logical step of Apple’s growth. How long it takes I don’t know, but this previously impossible thought is nothing if not inevitable.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Zar
EMAIL: czarembo@aol.com
URL:
DATE: 09/15/2007 10:06:54 PM
Love my Macs - so don’t get me wrong, I’m a committed don’t get in my way technology user. I’m an evangelist, I have a two Windows machines in my home to remind me of why I don’t want any more of them!
I’ve told my family, I’ll support their computing if they choose a Mac over a Windows machine. I grew weary of running spyware and virii removal software; of cleaning up their machines because Microsoft can’t write crapware proof code.
Apple makes great products, however, Apple won’t market their elegant solutions for networking and servers. I’ve tried to find on their sites, consultants who will help me get answers to simple questions such as; will Apple provide comparable drivers for various multifunction office machines. I want to know if I set up a Mac OS server environment, will there be drivers for the various new and old printer/copier/scanners existing in offices today?
I need the assurance of backward compatibility, before I sell this new system. I’m talking about SMB businesses, not enterprise or corporate type offices. Something that a consultant can assure an office that if they purchase the Mac OS Server system that it will run nearly maintence free and won’t require a propellerhead to come in all the time to keep it up and running.
I have written to Apple and to some of their consultants only to be greeted with no response whatsoever. I’m not a network geek, but understand enough to know that a simpler solution; one better than a Microsoft exchange mail server - for example , must exist.
So where is the assistance for me? And others who’d love to be able to provide a much more cost-effective and pestilence free computer environment to the small offices networks of the world? Any direction to me and I know others would be met with abundant gratitude.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Marc Mandel
EMAIL: mmandel@connotate.com
DATE: 09/16/2007 05:43:18 PM
Roger,
As a long-time Mac user struggling to fit into the enterprise standard of defacto infrastructure, AMEN.
Good for you, and for the Monitor110 team in your recognition of the best platform out there!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Michael
EMAIL: stockdog@mac.com
DATE: 09/16/2007 06:40:01 PM
Zar, I take it that Roger is speaking of Apple making inroads on the client side.
On the server side, Apple support infrastructure isn’t there. Never has been. The analogy is oil -you cannot shift the mass infrastructure. Apple is about consumer products. And Corp IT is about intrenched economy.
Apple is humbly aware of this. For guidance, watch the video of Jobs introducing the first xServe in May 2002. (if you can find it)
Media quotes from three years, one month ago:
“Apple is biting at the heals of business IT suppliers.”
“Agreeing with Forbes magazine, all Apple really needs now is a high profile company to switch to a Mac business architecture to prove the viability of OS X as a business platform and the dominoes will fall in Appleís favor, and thanks to Microsoftís security hassles and complex licensing companies are looking to switch to something else.”
hth
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kris Tuttle
EMAIL: kris@research2zero.com
URL: http://www.research2zero.com
DATE: 09/17/2007 07:05:22 AM
We do seem to go through the same script in IT over time: Relational DB (Sybase), mini-computers (DEC), Desktops (Compaq), Mobile email (RIM) on-demand applications (CRM) just to name a few. A good deal of the blame for the pain belongs to the traditional IT managers who fight change more than embrace it. Terms like “security,” “scalability” and “support” are all introduced by IT to slow down the process. Of course they are right but they pose them as obstacles rather than presenting solutions. In time a situation reaches the boiling point and their established vendors and technologies get driven off the farm by end-users.
Apple has a number of things going for it which should help. The ability to use XP effectively on a MAC and the mainstreaming of virtualization and SaaS create some cracks in the “no changes here” IT policy.
I don’t think it’s fair to say that mainstream corporate computing can move to the Mac platform but the ultimate percentage may be closer to 50% than the 5% one might have suggested two years ago. This is thanks to the poor job Microsoft and corporate IT groups have done in general terms. There is still a huge group of users who only want a low-cost, standard solution that doesn’t interfere with their 9 to 5. Because the Mac is priced at such a huge premium today they don’t fit well in those environments.
It’s interesting that Michael Dell has said that he would love to be selling OSX machines instead of Windows. The fact that Cap Gemini has decided to support Google Apps is the first shot in what could be a new call to arms in the SI world as these huge companies realize they can grow their businesses by helping corporations move to new, more consumer-derived technologies by providing the “missing pieces” of integration, security, scale and support.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: MarkB
EMAIL: wildmonk@wildmonk.net
URL: http://www.bsdi.cc
DATE: 09/17/2007 10:18:02 AM
I’ve run a software business for the last 15 years producing Windows software (well, DOS software at the start). I’ve purchased scores of Windows-based computers for myself and my employees over that time so please don’t take my comments as just another Mac fanatic bashing Windows.
The fact is that Vista simply has too many broken parts. It is going to put a huge crimp in Microsoft’s forward momentum with the Windows brand and, if people draw the same conclusions that I have, it will push huge numbers of people onto the Mac platform. While I agree with Zar that there are still some serious limitations on the server side, my company is done buying PCs for the forseeable future. I have a new Mac (with Win XP in a virtual machine) and have been extremely happy with it: it just works. As new employees need computers, they’ll be transitioning to Macs as well.
I’m putting my $$ where my mouth is too: I’m loading up with Apple stock because this is as strong a “gimme” as I’ve seen in the tech field since the Blackberry.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Yaser Anwar
EMAIL: yaser@yaseranwar.com
URL: http://www.yaseranwar.com
DATE: 09/19/2007 05:57:19 PM
I’ve noticed a change during my internships. In 2004 a majority of the banks (I can only speak for Dubai in 04) used IBM (from laptops to desktops). Now, they’ve moved to Dell (some HP) and some are also slowly getting Macs, but in the IT divisions (not sure about Quants) but not so much on the trading floors, at least I haven’t seen any. Won’t be surprised if AAPL will be there 2-3 years from now.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Neil Anderson
EMAIL: neilanderson@cyclelogicpress.com
URL: http://www.cyclelogicpress.com
DATE: 09/22/2007 08:33:41 PM
A change to Macs is definitely in the wings.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: David Werling
EMAIL: dewerling@comcast.net
URL:
DATE: 10/03/2007 08:34:55 AM
Steve Jobs said it himself last January. It is a “post PC world” or at least a post PC boxes world. Yes, Apple is starting from the consumer end but it is just a matter of time. Apple is designing all their software and hardware towards that goal. Apple’s Leopard is a “Windows” minimizing environment designed specifically for small screens. Goodbye window stacks and clutter on your computer.
Every one of Apple’s current consumer software products is designed to simplify life for consumers, to get 95 % of the complex functionality of MS Office for a quarter of the effort with few crashes. Just look at the similarity of editing tools across their consumer lines (Take the Apple tours at their site) NOT to mention the WOW factors of new multi-media features built in with similar cross application consistency and support.
Many more Apple ultra portables are coming at increasingly affordable prices. Look at Sony’s new 11 inch OLED screens—color bright in broad daylight, viewed from any angle, saving 40% on battery power. Samsung, a major supplier of Apple is ready to go with smaller screens in 2008. The future for Apple’s ultra-portable, touch screen technologies is assured. Hello slim Macbooks, Mac touchscreen tablets and iPhone Extremes running Web 2 secure software from Google, Apple and many others.
It is almost sad to see the Microsoft whale struggling on the beach of the Web2 world. Within 5 years it will be all over, even in the business world—see Salesforce.com for the future—they love the possibilities of the new iPhone/computers. It is then that Apple will execute their full entry into the corporate world.
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2 years ago
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