Macs Get Enterprise Management Help - Page 2

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Consumer-driven tech hits the enterprise

Like Kemp, Peter Frankl, COO of automated system and client management tool vendor LANrev, sees consumer technology driving the entry of Macs into the enterprise.

"At one of our midsize business customers which runs, an old Windows environment; the CEO and three other C-level executives got iPhones; then they switched to MacBook Pros because these work better with the iPhones; and now they're an all-Mac shop," he told InternetNews.com.

There's another reason Macs are catching on in the enterprise: running the Mac in enterprises with AppleTalk "was a nightmare," and things are a lot easier with Ethernet and the new communication technologies, Frankl said.

LANrev's automated system and client management products are for both the Windows and Mac platforms.

Group Logic will offer file and print services for the Mac, and virtualization vendor Parallels will offer virtualization capabilities -- its Parallels Desktop for the Mac has more than one million users and lets users run other operating systems including Windows and Linux beside OS X in their Macs.

IDC analyst Richard Shim told InternetNews.com that the Mac's infiltration into the enterprise market has been "under the radar" because Apple has not been pursuing the corporate market actively and because traditionally users haven't really been demanding the Mac.

However, the cool factor has played a big part in the adoption of the Mac in the enterprise.

It's cool to use an iPod or iPhone; the Mac is sexier; and users "see the Mac as a little more technologically advanced or easier to use than Windows" helped boost the Mac's profile in the enterprise.

Technological factors also played a part. For one, there's a widespread belief that the Mac is more secure than Windows; and second, Vista has not done well and users are seeking alternatives, Shim said.

"The enterprise market's client-driven to a large degree, and the growing influence of the Mac platform is resonating with IT managers now as they look at security and other issues," Shim added.