Continuing pressure on Mac users

I was visiting with some federal computer users today.  I noticed that the Macs which used to be prominent in their facility had mostly been replaced by Windows machines.  I finally got to a room which had some G5s in it, and I asked one of the users what was happening.  He told me that the word had come down from DOD that since Windows machines were predominant on all bases, the Macs had to go.

It's a shame this particular enclave of Mac users who are focused on graphics is going to have to give up their Macs and go Windows. Part of their challenge is that Apple has been unable to get certificates for OS X systems to operate on DOD networks, or if they have gotten them, they're a well kept secret.   Of course being Mac users, these users were fighting the loss of their Macs tooth and nail.  Just as many of these battles have played out over the years, I suspect these Macs will succumb to the pressure from the IT organization which just won't be happy until they rid themselves of a second platform.

It really easy to blame these IT organizations for pushing Macs out.  Yet part of me wants to lay the blame at the foot of Apple for not aggressively marketing to these IT organizations over the years.  Of course Apple's secrecy, unpredictable product changes, and general unwillingness to take the enterprise market seriously has really made enterprise Mac users second class citizens in the Mac world.  Often they fight their battles with little help from Apple.  The tiny and often somewhat misdirected enterprise sales team usually doesn't show up until it is too late or isn't even in the loop.

I'm glad Apple had enterprise tracks at the World Wide Developers' Conference, but in truth that conference is for the Apple faithful and those tracts aren't enough to sustain many of these users.  Apple needs to show up in other venues besides WWDC to help create awareness that will support some of these faithful Mac enterprise users.

All you have to do is go looking for the Apple enterprise site.  You'll likely end up at the Apple IT Pro page which has nothing to help the users like I met with today.  While they might have some nice sound bite quotes, they certainly aren't enough to turn the tide for the embattled Mac users in this federal account.

Of course you can pray that your IT shop doesn't stumble upon Apple's switchers page or what I think is properly termed, "Why choose a Mac?"  I find the reasoning on this page which one of my readers forwarded to me almost embarrassing.

These long time Mac users focused on graphics aren't getting any support because the Apple Corporate team considers them "run rate business." For those of you not familiar with the Apple sales dictionary, that mean business that happens without a sales rep or sales team being involved.  Apple in other words takes these graphic shops for granted.  With the full application suite available on cheaper Windows boxes and no recent Mac-based ROI studies to highlight the longer term value of Macs, it's very hard to argue the case for Macs in the enterprise. This is especially true sine there are just enough perceived challenges on a Windows network that the IT shops can mostly use FUD and price performance to drive the last nails in the Mac coffins.  If the truth were known, the Macs are great network citizens and offer a great way to make certain in these days of omnipresent viruses and worms, that at least some systems will stay up and running if there is a serious attack.

There is very little Apple business out there that stays Apple year after year without work from someone in spite of what Apple's sales management team thinks.   In the larger customers, sometimes an Apple rep gets involved to help fight the war, but often the users fight their own lonely battle.  It's a rare company that has made the decision to be a Mac shop and never reviews that decision.  The financial pressure is just too great and the marketing behind the Mac platform in the enterprise is just too weak especially compared to what hits the IT professionals from the Windows world.

The jury is still out on whether or not the switch to Intel processors will help these embattled graphic shops.  I know one thing, many of the server customers that I have talked to are telling me that it was the processor that they were after in the Xserve and Apple's processor switch has put them in the market for something besides Xserves.

Apple missed the boat by not making OS X security a key selling point.  In fact the first thing that should come to the mind of any computer user when they hear OS X is security. Unfortunately that's not the case.  While MS paid for ads in the Washington Post to talk about their commitment to security, Apple hid in the shadows, afraid to tout their own much more secure operating system. 

Of course now that Spotlight and Widgets are out there, they're definitely going to be able to turn the enterprise tide for Apple.

Comments

[Laff]

Well what about MS and Windows? Does the viri,worm,spyware, and addware issues not work against them when it comes to the whole question of security? Perhaps Apple should work harder but I would also tend to think the man issues with Windows and security might work in Apple's favor in the enterprise at least on some level.

Pagan jim

[ocracokewaves]

Certainly they work in Apple's favor, but someone has to point them out. When you're outside the Apple world, few people bring up Apple and the benefits of OS X security. That's why it would be nice if Apple would at least release an updated version of the Security pdf that they had for Panther. There's lots of things happening in technology but the buzz on Apple in the enterprise is pretty much a whisper.

[SuperMatt]

I work on a military base and the band used a lot of Macs, and still does. However, the tyrranical communications squadron will NOT let them connect to the network at all. We are doing a joint project with another branch of the armed services that uses XServes with QT streaming server for an internet radio station. It seems we will need to buy a DSL line for a mac that will be used to administer one of the XServes. The problem is that in the DoD, the person with the top rank can dictate whatever he or she wants. So when the head of communications says "only windows XP machines that were ghosted with images I personally set up are allowed" - you're pretty much stuck with it. Sad, but true. I can't imagine what Apple could have done to change the mind of some of the closed-minded, block-headed people in positions of power in the DoD. They fear that which they do not know, and they probably just have an MCSE, not even a computer science degree.