Apple Computers, Inc. is trying (although they don’t always admit it) to gain adoption in the enterprise. They don’t seem to be having a lot of luck. From my perspective, there are a few reasons for this:
- The throwaway computer: As long as there are computer manufacturers making computers for 1/3 to 1/2 the price of an Apple, it is hard to justify the added cost to run Excel and Outlook.
- Outlook: Lets face it. Entourage sucks. Beyond just poor performance, key missing features such as setting server-side rules (essential for anybody using a smartphone). Snow Leopard will help eliminate this, but only for companies running Exchange 2007. My company is not, and I imagine we aren’t alone.
- Internet Explorer: Few people will argue that IE is the worst browser available. That being said, most companies have an application that works best or only works in IE; SharePoint, Outlook Web Access, VPN solutions, or corporate intranet sites that use ActiveX. There is no support for these technologies on the Mac. I’m not saying there should be; the last thing I want is ActiveX support on my mac, but until these technologies are eliminated (not likely), they are barriers to entry.
- Specialized Corporate Software: Most types of software are represented on the Mac. Some are even better than their Windows equivalent. Unfortunately they are very rarely the same software, and very rarely compatible. Transitioning from one piece of software is not something that people take lightly.
- It’s Different: From the simplest standpoint, it’s not Windows. The tried and true Help Desk advice of “try restarting it” doesn’t typically help. People who have to do PC support tend to be resistant to change, because they have to change their answers; even worse, users who experience change ask questions.
On the other hand, they are doing some things right:
- Simplicity: Limited Pricing Models. Limited models. Limited configuration to screw up.
- Reliability: Because they have limited hardware that will run their software, they can put effort into making sure that it will work. Apple software will run on Apple hardware.
- The ability to stop looking back: There comes a time when things are obsolete. Apple knows when it’s time to cut them loose. Classic Support for OS 9 software was discontinued in Leopard. Support for the PowerPC platform which hasn’t been sold for 3 years.
- Lean and Mean: Cutting out legacy support allows them to do things like release an operating system that is 6GB smaller than the pervious version.
- Integration without Discrimination: Apple’s software (iTunes, iLife, etc., Mail, iCal) is great. It integrates well with the operating system and with each other. They don’t, however, make it hard for others to do the same.
There are certainly other things that are issues, and others that they could do better. If you’ve got suggestions, or suggestions for another post, post them in the comments!
23/06/2009 at 10:42 pm Permalink
I don’t like microsoft’s sfuff, but i have to use them.
apple is too young to enterprise. for development, microsoft got .net, what does apple get?
04/09/2009 at 1:24 pm Permalink
Apple has Objective-C/Cocoa for it’s development language/library/framework/runtime of choice, and the excellent XCode environment for an IDE. All told, you’re getting a package at least as powerful as .Net (this is what Apple uses to write it’s stuff, after all), arguably easier to use than .Net (no legacy crust from the bad old days of Win16 cluttering the API, and it’s Object Orient from the ground up), and entirely free (it’s included on the OS X install disc or a free registration and download away). None of this “you can have a taste, but if you want pro-grade tools you have to pay for them” silliness. Check out the Apple Developer Connection for more information.