Today, the above question appeared in the Business Technology blog of the Wall Street Journal. I posted the following response:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Email Subcription
About Me
- Gary
- Grew up in Lexington, MA and attended Lexington public schools. I have a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Bentley College and a MBA from Babson College. I have been a resident of Acton, MA for the past 15 years. I’m a diehard fan of the Mac. I help run a Macintosh user group in Boston and for five years I ran my own Macintosh consulting practice specializing in accounting systems. I’m much better at breaking ‘em then fixing ‘em. As a result of the Mac, I have fallen in love with digital photography and the iPod. Today my musical tastes are country and light (smooth jazz). I also have purchased several CDs from local bands that I have seen live. On Friday nights I work as a bartender at a local blues club called the Sit ‘N Bull in Maynard, MA. It has re-energized my love of live music. Another love of my life is the beach. I love ocean beaches. I go to the beach every summer weekend. My dream is to own a summer home in a beach community. I will be paying off my mortgage at the end of this year so who knows. Well, that’s it for now. Now for some interesting blog postings…
Is Apple ready for the corporate market? Large corporations want immediate service and flexibility. The more seamless the solution, the better. Apple Stores are fun and successful but they don’t reflect the needs of big business. Instead, they address the needs of the individual consumer.
I worked in Technical Operations for a billion dollar corporation and I would say that Apple would require an internal mind shift to service the Fortune 1000 world. The idea of a separate division or group would be a requirement.
How will Apple enter the corporate market? Through the back door. Simply put, more and more users are switching to Apple devices and it’s only a matter of time before they enter the corporate mainstream.
Is IT an issue? Absolutely. Why should the department learn to support two platforms when one is already the standard? It ts the grassroots movement of the Mac users that will gradually require the IT departments and data centers to to add the platform to their repertoire.
I’ve been a PC user and a Mac user for decades. The introduction of the iPod and iPhone has exposed literally millions to the quality and innovation of Apple. Add to that the ability to run Windows on a Mac and it’s simply a matter of time before the Mac will finally gain a permanent and growing foothold in the corporate marketplace.