The use of Apple products in the enterprise has been a long battleground for IT departments. Windows-based machines have long been the dominant platform for businesses, but that stronghold is being chipped away as Apple has had a bigger focus on cracking this market.
According to a recent article from Apple Insider, the Mac is making a greater push into the business landscape. A survey conducted by virtualization maker Parallels spoke with more than 200 IT department leaders and found that 45 percent now give employees the option to have a Mac in the office if desired. Of those who don't, 95 percent said they would if they had access to a single central management system that worked with both PCs and Macs.
The report goes on to find that the Apple lineup is considered more favorable to Windows when asked about performance and reliability. For example, 77 percent find Macs more reliable, 65 percent said they are easier to support and 65 percent said using them would help attract employees.
"Apple has steadily been gaining market share in the enterprise, with recent trends suggesting the company could account for 11 percent of the total global business market by 2015," the article reads. "Many believe the strong performance seen by the Mac is being driven by a so-called 'halo effect' with the iPhone, as corporations and their workers begin to buy into Apple's ecosystem."
The study also found that the main reason Macs are not used more in the enterprise is that 70 percent said they do not have the expertise to manage the platform effectively. Thankfully, with the help of an IT consulting firm that specializes in Apple support, any company will be able to overcome this challenge and embrace Mac integration.
