Google's solutions for small biz are a challenge for Apple

We see talk of a potential slowdown in high end consumer spending which might impact Apple's computer sales.  I have seen a couple of things saying the newly recovered Dell might be more immune because of a lesser dependence on consumers.

I am not sure that I buy either argument.  With a growing but still not huge market share, I believe Apple computer sales will likely continue to show growth among consumers.  I think Apple's target market for computers will be largely immune from a slowdown.  Now iPods might be a different story.

Still in thinking about this, I wondered what recommendation would I make to a small business looking for computers.  While Apple's desktop computers are built like tanks and have great reliability, they are priced similarly.

Most small business don't use a lot of laptops. I have seen some startups encourage people to bring their own laptops to work, but I do not see a small business buying a bunch of expensive Apple MacBook Air systems.

That leaves the iMac or the spec poor MacMini.  The one small business that I know which uses a Mac down here on the Carolina coast does use an iMac.  That is their only computer, but actually I am thinking of larger small businesses.

I wonder if we are to the point that the Mac no longer makes sense for those business places that have five to twenty computers.  As Microsoft made a real push at those areas, software licensing issues opened a real door for Apple a few years ago.

Unfortunately there was not a real "Mac Office" solution like Apple pushed in the early days.  Sure you could easily network Macs together, but finding Mac support above and beyond the telephone is sometimes a challenge.  Still I am sure that there are some small businesses out there using Macs.  I just do not think that number has grown as fast as Mac consumer users.

I believe part of the reason is the change that Google and others have brought to the small business world.

A few years ago, many people would have laughed at you if you suggested trusting Google with your email.

Today my first recommendation to a small business would be to give Google Apps for the Enterprise a hard look.  For fifty dollars for each user, you have many of your bases covered.  It works on any computer and any operating system, Windows, OS X, or Linux.

You could easily add a Mac for graphics and marketing.  On the flip side, it might make sense to have a Windows system running Microsoft Office for finance.

Would a bunch of $1199 iMacs make more sense for a small business office running Google Apps for the Enterprise than Dell systems at $700 or $800?

Actually as much as I like Macs and as much as this video makes me laugh because it has some truth, I would probably buy the Windows machines.  I say that even though I know the Macs and the OS X operating system are better.

The first reason would be that most of the people I would likely hire would be more comfortable on a Windows machine.

Second, finding local support almost anywhere on Windows is easier to do just because a whole industry had to be created to provide local support.

Third repairs could likely be done locally and less expensively.

Fourth putting an iMac with all its great software and tools in front of someone just might be a distraction for my employees whom I am hiring to do a job and not play with their computer.

Would there be more frustrations with Windows machines?  Absolutely, but this is work and a place where some frustration is to be expected.

Of course there likely are some really good reasons to push a business in either the Mac or Windows direction, but If I just needed people doing productivity applications, I would buy Windows machines and hook them up to Google Apps.

If I could find a good Linux guy who could also do something else besides play with Linux, I might be tempted to run the whole thing on Linux.

The whole equation of computing is changing.  I am most impressed with Google's direction.  I use so much of their stuff these days, sometimes I wonder if I have gone overboard.

I use Google Analytics, Google Adsense, Google Documents, Google Earth, Google Reader, Google Calendar and Picasa almost every day.

It is amazing how Google has taken over my software list.  The most surprising thing is that I don't pay them.  In fact I just got a check in the mail from Google for my Adsense revenue for last year.

Comments

[Apocalypse Tom]

Hmm. I wonder if your experience with Apple penetration into the SMB market is associated with your geography.

I make this comment because I run a small Apple consultancy in Seattle, and we are currently buried in new customers. Most are adding Macs to the mix, some are switching wholesale, and quite a few are forming new businesses and consciously choosing the Macintosh platform.

All anecdotal, of course.

[ocracokewaves]

It probably has much to do with what I am seeing.

Good chunks of NC & VA were called "whitespace" when I was at Apple.

This referred to the fact that there were few if any Apple resellers beyond university campuses.

Yet in the Washington, DC area where there is a history of strong Apple resellers, I know a number of consultants made their living off of Macs and working with small business.

I don't know how it is now but in the eighties when I worked for Apple Canada in the Maritime provinces, we had small towns which were strong Mac centers because the only computer dealerships in town were Mac only.

In the US, I don't Apple has ever done very well in the rural areas.