IT departments running out of excuses not to use Macs
In spite of their stability and ease of use, Macs have long been shunned by IT departments everywhere. It is getting harder and harder for IT departments to come up with reasons not to include Macs in their short lists of hardware, however. With factors from a greater number of users embracing the Apple interface to greater availability of cross platform options, IT is running out of excuses.
More and more people in the work force are asking their IT departments to either switch to or offer Macs as an option. Up until now, there weren’t that many compelling reasons for IT to say yes. Macs have been hobbled in the past by high prices, lack of cross platform compatibility, and a reputation for lacking enterprise management solutions and being only “for creatives”.
The surge in Mac requests has come hot on the heels of the popularity of the iPhone, iPods and the newest lines of MacBooks, MacBook Pros and iMacs. Company IT departments are usually keen on keeping the hardware in a company as uniform as possible to prevent issues with incompatibility, malfunctions and problems like viruses. These are all problems that plague the more ubiquitous Windows systems.
Macs are gaining a toehold in corporate America because they are prone to none of the incompatibility issues that Windows based PCs are. Mac’s insistence on doing everything from design and hardware to software in house keeps their computers in top shape right out of the starting gate. They are built to be easy to use, and will “see” whole networks regardless of platform once installed.
More and more people are writing software for Macs, eliminating the software compatibility argument. There is also a plethora of Open Source software available as well. Though a bit pricier out of the starting gate, when you stack them up next to an equivalently equipped PC their cost effectiveness becomes apparent. They also have a long shelf life, capable of lasting for years, often long past the changes in technology.
Even the government is thinking of rising the Mac wave, publishing a handbook on how to make their security comparable to federal standards. IT departments are coming to realize how easy MAcs are to set up and how simple they are to support, as well. Over time, any remaining reluctance to avoid Macs in businesses should be eliminated as they grow in popularity and demand for something better than Windows continues.
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April 26th, 2008
I’m starting my first full time job in a few months. I hope the IT department lets me get a Mac.
April 27th, 2008
This again? The reason IT departments give Apple the cold shoulder is because Apple isn’t very IT friendly.
No product life cycle info
No $1000 sweet spot model
No enterprise widely available service
Underwhelming Server Line
Single source product lock-in
Very little business financial software
It’s not because all we know is Microsoft
It’s not because we’d need less staff
We don’t have time to resell, although with the move to Intel the resale value is going to go down sharply.
If you’re getting viruses, you need to fire the IT staff. There are zero reasons a PC should get a virus.
I don’t have any issues setting up or maintaining Dells. We don’t purchase the cheapest consumer models, and I can feel confident I can get them serviced outside the US.
I have nothing against Mac’s or Apple. Apple has chosen to embrace the consumer market and ignore the high volume, low margin business market. Steve Jobs is not going to sacrifice margin for market share, nor should he. The success Apple is enjoying is evidence it is the correct one.
Linux has a much better shot to grab business from Microsoft, than Apple. It runs on the same hardware, is inexpensive, scalable, and secure. There is no single company holding you hostage. Governments that are dumping Windows are embracing Linux.
There’s a big difference between excuses and reasons. There were some pretty pointed criticisms of Apple’s quality control and customer service in certain areas last year. LCD issues, cracking cases, seagate drive failures and so on.
I do rolling 5 year budgets, much of it consisting of reallocation of IT assets to ensure everything works together. IT is information technology. For me that includes telephone, security, copiers, VPN appliances, WAN infrastructure and so on.
I can’t be waiting breathlessly everytime the Apple web store goes offline hoping to get specs for the latest models when it comes back up. The desktop is a pretty minor slice of IT responsibilities unless you’re talking small business.
There is nothing Apple currently offers that cannot be had cheaper and with more options for the IT environments. The open relationships with my vendor partners that allows us to accurately get cost figures and reliable future planning is not possible with a company that is so paranoid it buys out rumor websites.
April 27th, 2008
The obvious excuse is that Macs simply cost 30-35% more. Your average corporate / government worker uses spreadsheets and word processors – so where is the advantage??? There isn’t. Mac systems are not as secure as Windows either as Mac occupy less than 8% of the market and so are of little interest to hackers – so news of security updates are fewer as a result too – not something Apple should be bragging about as this is becoming more common knowledge. Until Apple realise they are relying on pretty looking units they will, for the moment be relying on sales of iPods to maintain profits – which is a joke if they want to compete with the big boys of computing.
April 28th, 2008
Mac’s are more resistant to compromise than your average Windows just because of the architecture of ‘nix. The recent hacking competition, not withstanding.
Your security through obscurity is so 20th century. The amount of crap Microsoft has got everyone thinking is SOP for prudent computer use is amazing. The decision by Gates to run everything with Admin privileges so it was easy to use, wasn’t a bad way to go at the time of no networks and internet. They’ve got the big challenge of an enormous number of users and Server products needing legacy support when releasing a new OS. That model is cracking from the sheer weight and size and I don’t see MS having more than 70% of the market by 2015. If you think that can’t happen, see IBM 1980′s.