Apple’s core calling is “creating the next cool thing for the world’s consumers.” Apple practices what it preaches and succeeds at it too.
The month of March changed a lot of things for Apple, in terms of fading resistance for Mac. Mac sales reported an enormous 51% increase compared to the previous year. This is said to be three times the rate for the personal-computer industry. These figures are excluding that of the iPod and iPhone. Adding them would bring Apple’s sales from $5.2 billion in the year 2002 to $24 billion last year. Even the share prices have seen a rise.
The reason for this is the millions of consumers that are looking at the Mac in a new light. Once only favored by artists and students, today the Mac is fast becoming the first choice of many.
The Mac revolution is also slowly making its way into the corporate world, with employees increasingly insisting that employers provide them Macs to work on. Google is always said to have given its employees the power to choose any system they want. Now even IBM and Cisco are running tests to see if they should allow Macs into their offices. The Mac always had fans who would sing its praises, but now even the mainstream users are learning the song.
There are several reasons why Macs make sense in the corporate world. With Apple’s share jumping to more than 10% in the consumer PC market, and with consumer applications from chat to Facebook entering the office environment, more businesses consider notebook PCs for their personal use as well as for work, and many choose Apple’s MacBooks.
Software evaluation analysts say that Apple’s operating system, the OS x, is superior to Microsoft Windows by many metrics, including its design, efficiency, bug-free operation, and the fact that it is less vulnerable to viruses and hackers.
Analysts predict that in time most of the office work will be done using Web-based applications, as opposed to storing programs on hard drives. That trend will reduce the need for Windows PCs. Even the disaffection with vista could prove to be a positive factor for the Mac.
Research showed that colleges are also seeing an increase in Mac users and of all the students who want laptops, at least 42% want a Mac (it was 8% in 2003.)
Another advantage is the ability to run Windows on a Mac. Since the time Apple adopted Intel’s microprocessors for its computers, Windows could be run on Macs too. A Mac can also use both the Mac operating system and Windows at the same time by using the virtualization software, and switching between them is easy. These kinds of improvements are the main reason why people are shifting to Macs. The ability to run Windows makes the Mac a perfect solution for many.
Looking at the drawbacks that Mac still faces, it will find it difficult to gain ground in much bigger companies, because of their intricate information technology systems and fixed rules. Many big companies still have objections to Macs. Just as having both PCs and Macs at home is a headache, supporting both in corporations entails more training for employees as well as having separate Mac support staff. There are also software limitations, such as some industrial-grade programs that cannot run on Macs.
Last but not the least in any sense, is the cost factor. The regular PC costs have come down while the cost of Macs has gone up. Not only that, one of the most affordable models, the iMac comes with a built-in screen and since monitors last longer than the computer itself, this is an issue with the budget conscious buyers.
However, we must appreciate the fact that none of these concerns seem to have affected Apple from being a success in the consumer market. Trends are on Apple’s side, with all the college kids swearing by iPods, they create a deep pool of potential Mac users. This is the reason Apple is not much concerned about dominating the corporate market. It also knows very well that entering into the corporate market will be costly and will not help with its short-term financial goals.
For now Apple is happy with the profits from consumers and students.
Please, it’s not Mac as in ‘… moving to Mac’, rather, the Mac as in ‘… moving to the Mac platform’
I’ll go now…
Cost of Corporate Switch to Macintosh Computers
Mac Mini is a BYODKM Macintosh Computer that does not come with a screen or keyboard or mouse. One can use the existing monitors, keyboards and mice from the current Windows based computers with appropriate connectors. The Mac Mini also comes quite a few useful applications that one can for day-to-day internet access, e-mail etc. One can get a Mac Mini for either $599 or $799. With corporate volume discounts it may cost even less. Also, the Mac Mini with Intel processors can run existing Windows applications in virtualization mode using VMWare’s Fusion or Parallel’s Desktop for Mac. Further, Mac OS X updates very rarely make the Macs obsolete in 2 or 3 years. I have Year 2000 G4 Macs that are still functioning very well under the latest update of Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger).
Please do a little bit of research before you say that it will be expensive for corporations to switch to Macintosh Computers.
Macs pretty much last as long as monitors. 🙂
Do you run PC or do you use “a PC”?
A minor point regarding terminology: You use “a Mac.” You don’t use “Mac.” If you use Mac, you may be applying a brand of cosmetics.
Three points:
The most affordable Mac is not the iMac, it is the Mac Mini and it comes without a monitor.
Mac prices have also come down or remained flat, not gone up. However, the price of a Mac has always been higher than the base price of a PC. One reason is because even the most basic Mac tends to come equipped with more than a basic PC — like firewire. And how much extra is it worth to have no viruses, spyware of malware?
Third, we have PCs and Macs in our home together and it IS problematic. Not because of networking or file incompatibility. It is because everybody wants to use the Mac. And it is the PC that always needs the tech support.
Dan – I wrote “one of the most” and not the most affordable. Yes, Mac Mini is the most affordable but I wanted to express that although the iMac is affordable, people do complain about the built-in screen.
Regarding the price of Macs going up, I meant to say the average cost of PCs has dropped while the average cost of Macs has risen because of the new high-end products such as the razor-thin MacBook Air.
At home it is a headache to have two totally different computers, especially when you are doing office work from home and need to shift from one to another in case of a problem. When we are talking about tech support, it does not necessarily mean that Macs create problems, but it means that any large organization has a technical support team and the cost of training and recruiting is expensive. For an organization that is already using PCs and has a tech support team for PCs, it involves a lot of expense shifting to Macs.
Viswakarma – For corporations that switch to Macs, the cost of the computer is not the only expense involved. Even if they can afford to buy Macs, there are a lot of other things, such as extra training for employees and extra outlays for Mac support staff. Then there may be software limitations too. For example, getting Microsoft’s exchange email to run on the Apple machines is a huge hassle. Corporate customers are also far more frugal than others. So, its definitely not just the cost of the machine and definitely proves expensive for large corporations.
A lot of research went into this and this article has been written after a lot of reviews from companies have been checked.
You are right about “the Mac” and ” a Mac”. I have posted the corrected version.