IBM to purchase Mac's for Employees

[pitbullrescuer]

I ran gr level 3 version 2 in windows. I still use that laptop in the chase vehicle since if it got broken into and stolen… i would not be as upset as if it was my macbook pro. gr level 3 never had issues, mainly it was internet explorer and Facebook that would really drive me nuts as i really do not like chrome browser.

 

[lclev]

Honestly though, since most networks in corporate environments are built on standards best served by Windows (I'm looking at your Active Directory, Exchange and SMB), why would you not use Windows especially when the machine are so much cheaper and better supported?

I have my Mac Pro and the iMac on our network. I had a few learning curves to jump through to get them both playing nice with my Windows network but after I figured it all out, they are doing fine. Actually, once I got the hang of it, there is no more time requirement than if I was adding a new PC. It does require the IT doing a little initial learning but that is what they are paid for - right?

I do realize I am a little OCD and love a challenge. I will work overtime to figure out how to get things to work to the point my husband has question at times if he was still married (bless his long suffering heart! ) So, I will concede that most IT's do not want to mess with it, especially if all they have known is a Windows environment. I bet the Linux guys don't mind though. ;D

As for cost - yes, that is going to be the biggest problem. It is hard to convince them when it affects the bottom line. As for support - Apple is far better than any other PC provider - and I have dealt with HP and Dell so I knoweth what I speaketh of. But for in-house IT, there could be where the issues arise.

Lisa

 

[vansmith]

Oh, I'm sure a Mac can play nice but admin from the IT side will also be much more manageable when all of your machines are powered by the same platform. But yes, regardless of how well they play nice with a Windows network, Apple won't (by choice) play nice with the pricing.

I bet the Linux guys don't mind though. ;D

Haha, they'd be in the back of the room, compiling everything to have the machine run at peak performance...as long as you don't touch it.

 

[MacInWin]

An an old IBMer, the solution used there was that each machine version (I don't know how many versions of the ThinkPad were supported, but it was more than 5-6, and we were usually on at least two versions of Windows.) had an image, so when you had any problems with the ThinkPad, IT would test it quickly, back up your data files if needed and re-image the machine with the standard image, then restore your data files. Email and calendaring was Lotus Notes, plus the standard MS Office suite of Word, Excel, PP, but not Outlook. So what I suspect will happen is that they will get a few standard MBPs, image them to some standard suite and do the same thing. It's not really that hard to support, given that the solution to 99% of the problems was simple brute force. If the re-image didn't fix it, you got a replacement ThinkPad (not new, just a replacement). As for networking, any WiFi or network connection would work as they used VPN from anywhere outside the company network. The only challenge was that software updates were only pushed when connected to the company network directly, not through the VPN, so if you didn't come to the mothership very often, the pushes got behind and that first connect when you did check is took a long time! I used to make it a practice to visit an IBM office at least every two weeks, just for the pushes. Road warriors learn to cope...

 

[Dysfunction]

hrm... this isn't new ... really.

 

[XJ-linux]

I work on AIX, and I like Macs, so I'm a happy camper. That said, I doubt it will change my life much.

 

[lclev]

Well maybe this is why IBM is integrating Macs into it's corporate work place.

IBM Launches New Service to Deploy Macs to Businesses Around the World - Mac Rumors

OR this was the compromise for selling Macs to IBM at a reduced cost (comparable to a Lenovo)???

Either way looks like IBM plans to try to make a little money on the deal.

Lisa

 

[MacInWin]

I think there is a win-win here. Apple gets a chance to sell a metric crap-ton of MBPs to a portion of the market it has never penetrated well, IBM gets to sell consulting services into that market, with the cachet that "Hey, we went through it and here's what we did." Smart move on both parts.

 

[XJ-linux]

If they did a non-Java SAP GUI port for Mac, they'd clean house.

 

[chas_m]

I have to point out that IBM by itself is buying 200,000 MacBook Pros and Airs for its employees this year. Tell me again how Apple isn't in the enterprise, remembering that this is the company that makes iPhones.

 

[vansmith]

Basic statistics - this is much too small a sample size to generalize. That would be like arguing, "Roughly half of smartphone users in Canada use an iPhone and therefore, Apple has made huge inroads globally in smartphone reach" when it has a global market share hovering around 11%. There's no doubt that Apple is creeping in but it's impossible to take one company and extrapolate findings over an entire (corporate) world.

 

[MacInWin]

I have to point out that IBM by itself is buying 200,000 MacBook Pros and Airs for its employees this year. Tell me again how Apple isn't in the enterprise, remembering that this is the company that makes iPhones.

OK, I'll tell you. This will be the FIRST time IBM uses MBPs for its employees generally. They may have had a few around in the laboratory, or for developing the iPhone apps in collaboration with Apple, but the "standard" machine for the workforce was a ThinkPad. Now that's changing, which is why this is news.

 

[MischievousMonk]

This is great! Hope our company will give Mac to their employees too.