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Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts

By | September 3, 2010, 3:00am PDT

Apple is investing on its partner network, direct sales and support in an effort to take advantage of enterprise and small business interest in the iPad and iPhone.

This week, Apple’s iPod and Apple TV products dominated the headlines, but there are also a lot of emerging signs that Steve Jobs & Co. are showing enterprise gains.

Let’s recap a few of the Apple enterprise highlights that were easy to overlook this week:

  • Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore said in a research note that Apple was increasing “efforts to drive greater penetration into Enterprise and SMB accounts.”
  • Whitmore’s research note was based on meeting with Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer and retail head Ron Johnson. These Apple execs noted that Apple is “increasing its investment in the VAR channel, direct sales capacity and Apple Care to support its enterprise goals.”
  • As previously reported, the iPad is gaining real traction in the enterprise. Whitmore wrote:

Apple has been pleasantly surprised by the strength of iPad in Enterprise and seems to be benefiting from demand pull/halo effect of the iPad and iPhone with corporate customers. In addition, Apple is optimistic the large number of enterprise customer briefings it conducts will translate into additional corporate penetration.

  • IT pros are actively pondering the iPad as management tool. The scuttlebutt coming out of VMworld this week was that IT admins are talking about running their consoles off of iPads. Also: 10 free iPad apps for business (photos)
  • Vertical markets like healthcare are actively checking out the iPad. If you peruse Apple’s enterprise support forums you find a bevy of enterprise topics. One key forum revolved around Citrix (right), the iPad and electronic medical records (EMRs). The iPad wasn’t perfect in the hospital setting, but was largely seen as a replacement for tablet PCs and laptops. In any case, Apple is actively targeting doctors.

Here’s one use case from Aug. 30:

I use iTap to remotely control my desktop computer (which is a iMac running Windows 7 under parallels) to allow access to my EMR, my hospital PACS (picture archiving and communications system) and hospital EMR. It (iPad) works great as tool for accessing information. Input is great if you are using templates. Keyboard typing is not as accurate but I usually go back and dictate the HPI in Dragon anyway. When I am out of the office and in the hospital, I use Logmein to access my desktop as our hospital Wifi does not allow VPN connection. Logmein uses encryption so it is HIPAA compliant. When I remote into my office computer, I have Parallels set as a bridged network. This allows me to access my Windows side of the computer without turning off the screen saver on the Mac side. That way anyone who might be sitting at my desk cannot see what I am doing. I am using eClincalWorks for my EMR.

Although our hospital has EPIC, the older Citrix Servers we have are not compatible with the iPad Citrix client so I have to still use remote access via Logmein to my desktop computer for the hospital EMR. It works fine over a Wifi network.

The nice thing about this setup is I can bring an XR image up as I am talking to my patients in the office or at the bedside. The battery life and portability of the iPad beats my Lenovo tablet and Dell laptop hands down.

Add it up and it’s obvious that Apple is cranking up its interest in the enterprise. You’ll just never hear about it.

Related: Forrester: Apple’s iPhone, iPad secure enough for enterprises, but RIM rules security roost

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Topics

Hospital, Apple iPad, Electronic Health Record, Apple Inc., Small And Medium Business, IT Pro, E-health, Healthcare, Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Disclosure

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
tomlin21-24319035676893835085146735905770 11th Oct
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ABAers are going to whine about this as a plug
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh Updated - 3rd Sep 2010
to Apple.

Regardless of what anyone thinks about Apple, the iPad is a compelling form factor. It will be really interesting to see what other OEM's come up with in terms of competition running Android OS or even HP's WebOs. If MSFT drags their butt along the carpet too long, aside from the chapped @ss, they are going to miss out on a compelling market again.
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Just as if....
Economister 3rd Sep 2010
@JM1981

I had written your post myself, except I would have capitalized "again". happy
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
kenift 3rd Sep 2010
@Economister
Me too. Except I would have left off the OEM's apostrophe.
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Not so much news
frabjous Updated - 3rd Sep 2010
If anyone at ZD cared to look, Apple has had Enterprise resources on their website for a long time.

As always, the real Enterprise problem (and I fought the battle from the inside for years) was that anything that threatened the status quo (control!) by the group called Information Systems or Information Technology or any similar names, would be resisted, sabotaged, trivialized--whatever it took to keep the current top manager of that group in place and growing his team, for his own financial benefit. Over the years, many more cost-cutting and "speed up" initiatives came from internal user groups, not the IS/IT groups.

A technique that usually worked, at some political risk, was to go up high enough in the hierarchy to remind IS/IT just who their clients were--and who actually generated the revenue that paid their salaries. Once it was mainframes, then minicomputers, then Windows desktops. Now people that see real tactical and strategic benefits, at lower costs, with smartphones, the iPad, etc., are facing the same embedded attitudes.

This is the real test of a top executive--can she or he encourage bottom-up thinking that can change how the company gets things done, to better serve their customers and build the business and profits.
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
minardi Updated - 23rd Sep 2010
@frabjous can she or he encourage bottom-up thinking that can change how the company gets things done Good luck with that one. IT VP will never move. Would rather use all the political connexions to get the guy with the idea fired before.
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
jorjitop 4th Sep 2010
@JM1981
Android can never be a factor in these markets since it is full of Google spyware. Privacy concerns must preclude it.
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The iPad/iPhone are too walled-off to be useful.
dgurney 6th Sep 2010
Look at the ridiculous workaround highlighted in this article: the doctor using remote-access software to control Windows running in a virtual machine on a Mac somewhere! Why does he have to do this and suffer the inevitably poor performance of such a setup? Because Apple has crippled its platform to the point where it's a glorified game-player and iPod. The inability to get information onto and off of these devices undermines their capability so severely that one must question the point in developing serious applications for them.

Not only can you not share information between an iPad/iPhone and a computer that it's physically connected to (WTF), but you can't even use peer-to-peer wireless networking as a workaround. Both devices still have to be connected to the same centralized network.

Then there are the potential physical devices that are ruled out by Apple's blocking of access to the dock connector on these devices. Where are all the interesting and innovative hardware devices that should have come along in the last three years? There are very, very few; and those that exist are probably using some analog workaround to Apple's preposterous "approval" process for gaining access to the hardware connector.

Apple lives in its own world, where it doesn't have to compete or create tools that make people more productive. Their success is abetted by legions of apologists and lazy "reviewers" and "observers" who perpetually laud the "elegance" of Apple's products without actually trying to use them for anything.

It's all very, very tired at this point.
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Interesting what the #1 usage of iPad is
NonZealot 3rd Sep 2010
We keep hearing from the Apple zealots that Windows 7 tablets must be a fail because point and click UI can't work on a touch device. Yet what do we see as the #1 business use above? iTap (remote desktop so iPad can run Windows apps) and Citrix (remote access so iPad can run Windows apps). But... but... but... those Windows apps you are accessing on your iPad all have point and click interfaces!! Huh, guess all you Apple zealots are liars.
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Behold Million Man Math.
frgough 3rd Sep 2010
One example use case becomes the #1 business use.

The prediction that Windows 7 tablets will fail is based on past empirical evidence with other Windows tablets. The Windows 7 UI is not significantly different from previous Windows UIs.
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The reason in my mind is that
Economister 3rd Sep 2010
@NonZealot

Windows simply requires too much in the way of resources to make for a truly portable all day (12hrs) battery life device. Unless MS can make Windows run well on iPad level HW, this will be their Achilles heel.

The argument raised by some people that "W7 runs fine on my netbook" is simply irrelevant. A "netbook based" tablet would weigh about twice as much as an iOS/Android tablet to get all day battery life. Unless you really need Windows, the penalty is simply unacceptable. I think MS is in a real bind here unless they can pull a rabbit out of the hat with WP7.
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This I can agree with
NonZealot 3rd Sep 2010
@Economister
Unless MS can make Windows run well on iPad level HW, this will be their Achilles heel.

And this is the #1 problem with putting Windows 7 on a tablet. The blabber about UI is just that, ignorant FUD. We will see if MS and the hardware makers can work their way around this one.

I personally would like to see a choice. I don't see why we can't have tablets with slightly reduced battery times but a full OS on them AND tablets with a slimmed down OS that loses their Windows compatibility. The 2 aren't mutually exclusive options.
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
kevinatlarge 5th Sep 2010
@Economister

I have a Vaio VPCX13 with Windows7. Extremely thin, lightweight (1.6 pounds), with 4 hours of battery life that for another pound (bigger battery) extends to an all day 19 hours. It's not going to win any performance awards but it's a great mobility device. It's one cool, quiet, thin laptop.

The average iPad user spends $800 or more on an iPad, not including the apps and data plans. This laptop with more storage is $1500. So nominally twice as much. But then it's a full PC with a webcam, keyboard, multi-tasking, bluetooth, usb, runs the full web including flash and Silverlight etc. And over one year of ownership, the 3G iPad can cost a full $490 more than a WiFi device.

As devices are getting smaller, lighter and cheaper, the typical inexpensive netbooks of the very near future will be amazing mobility devices that surpass the VPCX13 in performance. Size will hit the wall eventually not due to technology but to durability and ergonomics (a much thinner and lighter device of these dimensions might just be too fragile).
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
ItsTheBottomLine 6th Sep 2010
@Economister "...real bind here..." what bind? This is a niche market. We have these at work; in fact I have one myself. They are a "consumer" device, with some basic input capability. For that area this is a very nice tool, I don't think MS is in any bind here. If the OEM can bind the basic W7 with a good hardware platform it's even better, but again right now it's a niche. We have given these to our sales people in key areas. They are great sales tools, presentations, for a one-on-one situation, and showing our latest Ads and bill boards etc. They work great. That's it the sales people do not use them for input. They HATE them for input, but while they are out if they need to consume - i.e. a report, and they have connectivity (a big issue), then they are great. Put a nice tablet with a keyboard and a full OS that can do something well then you have the best of both worlds. Sorry I don't understand the garbage "...MS is in a real bind here...", and it doesn't make any sense especially if you work in a enterprise office not a mom-pop shop.
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It isn't that Windows 7 can't be a slate style OS
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh 3rd Sep 2010
@NonZealot... It just has some serious limitations when it comes to multi-touch technology.

One major issue is the fact that the OS really isn't designed with multi-touch as a "Primary" means of input. Sure it can be accomplished with a bolt on, and even in your "Business Case" the multi-touch functionality is not taking place on the box being remoted to, but rather from the local device, the iPad, and the commands are being translated, and has nothing to do with the capability of the remote system.

Even the TouchSmart PC's the multi-touch capability is a bolt on, not built into the native OS. There is some touch capability built in but it would seem that it is limited, and that for some tasks a stylus is still required.

What MSFT needs to do, even to make a desktop OS capable of running on a similar form factor is to stop considering touch as a add on functionality, and make it a primary means.

All three mice, keyboard, and multitouch can be builtin as a primary means of input.
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All UI is a bolt-on so you are wrong
NonZealot 3rd Sep 2010
@JM1981
First off, all UI is a bolt-on unless your OS has the GUI built into the kernel, something none of the major consumer OSs do. So right there, your whole post is negated. Your complaint that multi-touch isn't the "primary" means of input into an OS simply doesn't pass the sniff test. Remember, and remember well, that iOS is OS X (as you all keep reminding us) and so multi-touch was bolted on there too. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, Apple has made it work. You are suggesting bolt-on multi-touch is a bad thing. You are wrong. Apple proves you wrong.

Now, I will agree that applications can be written such that they don't work well with a touch input (single or multi) but from the #1 use case above, it doesn't seem to be bothering anyone since they are accessing those very same applications from their iPads through remote access. Again, your complaints don't pass the sniff test. People are using the Windows 7 UI on their iPads.

and that for some tasks a stylus is still required.

Please don't lie about things you've never used. A stylus is provided to support handwriting and fine drawing, not because any aspect of the OS requires it. Stop spreading the FUD. It isn't becoming of you.

To summarize:
- All UI is bolted on. Your requirement that multi-touch be "builtin" makes absolutely no sense.
- People are using the Windows 7 UI on their iPads.
- FUD about the stylus is just that: FUD. Stop it.
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We have several Tablets running Windows 7
Snooki_smoosh_smoosh 3rd Sep 2010
@JM1981, a stylus is required. Spew all the crap you want, facts don't change.
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So do we, stylus not required
NonZealot 3rd Sep 2010
@JM1981
Why would anyone believe an MS hater like you?
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number two
buddhistMonkey 3rd Sep 2010
@NonZealot ((( "Yet what do we see as the #1 business use above?" )))

The article doesn't say what the #1 business use of the iPad is. You're a liar.
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Funny...
techconc 3rd Sep 2010
@NonZealot

If nothing else, it is funny to watch you squirm when Apple success stories are written. It's funny how insecure and defensive you become. Oh my goodness, iPads are getting penetration in the enterprise market. Quick, write some feeble post to make yourself feel better... wink Relax, Microsoft is still in business.
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Not so sure I buy the VAR thing
matthew_maurice 3rd Sep 2010
Direct sales and AppleCare for Enterprise makes sense, but I can't see Steve thinking anyone else can add value to one of his products. Especially with iOS devices, where's the ability to add any value? Apple got badly burned on the whole "VAR channel to big business" back in the 90s. Hell, part of the logic behind the Apple Store, both website and brick-and-mortar, was to reduce reliance on third party sales by making it so easy no one has to go through anyone else.
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But don't ever forget how they did it
NonZealot 3rd Sep 2010
@matthew_maurice
Hell, part of the logic behind the Apple Store, both website and brick-and-mortar, was to reduce reliance on third party sales by making it so easy no one has to go through anyone else.

This highlights one of the scummiest, most disgusting moves that Apple has ever made, and that is saying a lot because Apple has done a lot of scummy things.

http://news.cnet.com/Apple-resellers,-consumers-sue-Mac-maker/2100-1047_3-5584620.html
From the article:
resellers claiming the company has been using confidential reseller information in order to boost sales at Apple's own stores and cut the resellers out.
...
Apple ensured its own stores' shelves were stocked more plentifully and ahead of resellers
...
Apple also stands accused of deliberately undercutting the resellers' prices and failing to extend warranties while its products were being repaired
...
Apple's actions promoted the company's own stores to the detriment of resellers and, as a result, have driven resellers out of business

These poor store owners, who went into business for Apple, supported Apple, sold Apple's goods when no one else would, were literally kicked to the curb.

Disgusting. Disgusting. Disgusting.
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
snoop0x7b 3rd Sep 2010
@NonZealot That's exactly the case. Apple was never a real friend to independent Apple resellers... The existence of Apple retail stores proves that.
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Ah, the lovely world of revisionist history
frgough 3rd Sep 2010
what we don't like, we just change. Apple moved to retail stores because their resellers were crap. CompUSA anyone?

MicroCenter is an Apple reseller. They do quite well even when close to an Apple store. Because they actually hire informed sales staff and are excited about the product.
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OK, so?
matthew_maurice 4th Sep 2010
@NonZealot Where's the rest? You post a 5-year old article about a lawsuit, but what was the outcome? Did the plaintiffs win? Was Apple found to be in Breach? Or did a guy with a JD and years of legal experience rule that the case was without merit? HUH? Tell us or STFU!

Your screeds against Apple are comical. Your inane attempts to vilify Apple (e.g. "scummiest, most disgusting moves that Apple has ever made") are as pathetic as the fanboys' attempts to dieify them. Get over yourself, and find a new hobby.
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Enterprise...really?
trickytom3 3rd Sep 2010
There is a whole lot more to entering the enterprise tech market than just putting out a tablet that connects to servers.

Enterprise-grade products demand flexibility and control, and Jobs HATES to hand that out. Further, when an enterprise product fails, the issue can't be "press conferenced" away with ******** explanations (ala the iphone antenna issue).

Building connectors to hook up an iPad to a data-center doesn't mean that you're playing in the enterprise market. That's like saying that you're a player in telecom because you produce a cordless phone...technically true but a big stretch.

Build me a real enterprise OS, a real enterprise DB server, and a real enterprise support system...then we'll talk. Otherwise, you're just building toys.
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
snoop0x7b 3rd Sep 2010
@trickytom3 I feel exactly the same way... Apple may produce products that they claim are enterprise ready, but never mistake OSX-Server for a real enterprise-ready server OS, and never mistake XSan for a real NAS solution... Oracle will be on top with Solaris and IBM with either AIX or Linux. EMC will be on top of the storage market for a very long time... And I don't really foresee that many of EMC's customers, I also don't see the sort of great innovation out of Apple for their XSan line that you see out of EMC's solutions.
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Interesting technology...
itpro_z 3rd Sep 2010
...yet still not mature. The business world will certainly be evaluating the iPad to see if it fills a need, but everyone needs to take a deep breath and realize that, despite its advances, the iPad is still a work in progress. All but the most strident Apple zealots admit that the iPad is a typical Apple generation 1 device, with significant shortcomings that will be addressed in future versions. Also, there is the issue of developing the apps that businesses will need. Right now, the iPad is, by Apple's own definition, a "media consumption device". In other words, a consumer electronics device, or even a toy as some of us heretics like to call it.

I am intrigued by the form factor, and have been for years. In the past, the technology was simply not mature enough to produce a workable tablet. Now we are getting very close, and I expect to see interesting developments in this category over the next few years. By the time business is ready to begin purchasing tablets in any kind of quantity, there will be a variety of choices running WebOS, WP7, full blown Windows, Android, Chrome, and probably others like Ubuntu and customized versions of Linux. While the Apple zealots will rant about these being flawed copies of the iPad, the rest of us will look at the variety of choices available and pick the machine that best meets our needs. In the end the tablet market will mirror the current PC market, offering a wide range of choices in hardware and software to meet any need. Apple will be successful with the iPad, but meeting the needs of a broad market has never been their focus.
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ipad not enterprise ready
bryanlue@... 3rd Sep 2010
I been trying to deploy a few ipads for an upcoming event and its way too much work and too much work around to get what you want, and not enough lock down features. The example of the doctor is completely atrocious and the same problem. A bunch of workarounds to get what you need out of the device. It's great for a consumer, completely sucks for enterprise. MS will enter when it's ready and will provide a complete system that will actually consider the corporate world when it's built. Apple needs to stop relying on external software vendors and develop a proper enterprise platform to work from and make it run on Windows, Linux, as well as OS X. Right now it's too archaic and it's always an afterthought for them.
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Great post
NonZealot 3rd Sep 2010
@bryanlue@...

I totally agree with you.
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Did you even read the article?
matthew_maurice 4th Sep 2010
@bryanlue@... Anyone with a bit of reading comprehension would have realized that the work-arounds were required because of the other software (i.e. "older Citrix Servers we have are not compatible with the iPad Citrix client") or because the host applications have Windows only clients. There's no reason a PACS has to be Windows only, the DICOM objects are all standards, so iPad PACS clients should easy to create, in fact several are out. The problem isn't the iPad, it's the short-sighted developers who created systems tied one platform. So for whom is cross-platform support an afterthought?!
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
Graham Ellison 3rd Sep 2010
When are people going to figure out that it's not the devices that make Apple successful, it's the entire ecosystem to which they are the gateway? And before that, it's the thinking, the design work and the deals that make all this possible.

If you think like a box mover, as Ballmer so obviously does, then your company hasn't a hope in hell of beating Apple, as the game shifts from desktop and laptop to smaller portable devices.

This isn't rocket science. All the evidence is there staring us in the face. We can bleat on all day about form factor and the way one OS performs on devices better than another, and which OS will have the biggest market share etc., but in the final equation, it's the company with the whole package that will win.

And yes, I did predict all this more than 5 years ago, and yes, everyone told me I was mad/wrong.
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We are not the ones confused
itpro_z 3rd Sep 2010
@Graham Ellison

Yes, Graham, I see your point about the whole "Apple Ecosystem" thing, I just see it from a different perspective. Yes, Apple has done very well as a consumer electronics company, where people are more willing to buy into their cult mentality. The business and enterprise market is a different market entirely, and Apple is barely an afterthought over here.

The very things that make Apple so successful in the consumer market are what holds them back in the corporate world. We don't like devices that are totally locked down and controlled like Apple's. We don't like devices and software that give very little thought to management and security. We especially don't like companies that try to dictate to us what features and services we need (or don't need). Microsoft has been successful because they listen to us, and offer us a platform that can be configured to meet our needs, not the Lord Steve's. I see the same thing developing with Linux, where some effort is being put in to molding the product to meet our needs, but if anything see Apple becoming even more closed, more controlling, more dictatorial. That philosophy will simply not fly in the business world.
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simply will not fly...
vulpine@... Updated - 3rd Sep 2010
@itpro_z : ... Yet despite your arguments more than half of the Fortune 500 and many others in the enterprise are already researching how such devices can be used both in-house and by their customers. Just because you as a techie can't figure out how to do it doesn't mean it can't be done. Nor does it mean that you shouldn't continue trying, because the people who have the power can and will require the adoption of these devices, whether they are Apple's or somebody else's.

In actuality, one of the main reasons Apple's iPad is being considered is that despite your complaints about Apple's "Walled Garden", it is exactly that walled garden that is attracting them, because there is less chance for malware and security issues through Trojan Horse applications. There is absolutely nothing preventing any company from creating their own in-house applications for the iPad and Apple does not prevent those companies from writing and installing their own apps.

The iPad is still a new product and hospitals still need to assess their own needs. Meanwhile, there are numerous third-party developers who are writing apps to meet the real-time needs of the medical industry that don't require direct full-time connection to a specific desktop computer to properly serve the purpose. Apps already used by iPhones in the medical environment can be as readily used by the iPad with a larger, easier to read and annotate interface. In other words, Apple isn't bringing the iPad into the enterprise without support--it already has three years of active operations. It already has its foot in the door, and with each new device, each new upgrade, it pushes that door a little wider.

I won't deny that Android devices and WinPhone 7 devices will be able to compete, but they're starting with a three-year handicap where Apple has already shown what it can do. The simple fact that the iPad can already seamlessly tie to a selected desktop, no matter the OS, means the other platforms will have to work hard to compete. Unlike smart phones which are a personal choice more often than not, Android is going to have to prove its reliability and security before ever getting adopted into an enterprise environment. WinPhone 7 will have the advantage over Android when that time comes, since by most reports it will be at least somewhat backwards-compatible with existing WinMob devices while Android will have almost no established penetration.
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
Graham Ellison 3rd Sep 2010
@itpro_z

First of all, what "different perspective" do you claim to be looking at this from? What makes you think anyone but an idiot buys into "their cult mentality" as you so patronizingly put it? And while we're on that theme, who are the "we" to claim: "Apple is barely an afterthought"? Where is: "over here"? and what's your evidence for the ludicrous statement: "The business and enterprise market is a different market entirely"?

You've just read evidence that Apple is making headway in the enterprise, yet you scrawl: "The very things that make Apple so successful in the consumer market are what holds them back in the corporate world."!

I could go on, but I don't need to. I run a business that's 99% Mac. We have a few PCs running UNIX and one running Windows - for evaluation purposes.

I'm guessing you're in IT, but it really doesn't matter, mainly because you and your thinking is retarded legacy tripe that we're soon about to see the end of, and good riddance.

Not only are you wholly wrong about Microsoft, the truth is that they've held back the frontier of computing now for at least ten years, but the rot set in 30 years ago.

But I'm guessing nothing I say won't sway your superannuated mindset. But I'll take the chance that you're a betting man. $1000 says you're wrong. I doubt you're brave enough to take that bet, but it's genuine.
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I'll take that bet...
SonofaSailor 4th Sep 2010
@Graham Ellison

Ok, so you're a "99% Mac" shop? how many other shops do you think are like yours? Really...honestly?

And, you refer to this article as "read evidence" of the iPad's success in the enterprise? 3 out the 5 bullet points "portraying" the iPad's success in the enterprise are Apple's own words:

Bullet 2: Whitmore?s research note was based on meeting with Apple CFO

Bullet 3: As previously reported, the iPad is gaining real traction in the enterprise. Whitmore wrote...

Bullet 5: If you peruse Apple?s enterprise support forums you find a bevy of enterprise topics.

Are the consumers that purchase Apple products so brainwashed and marketing fed that they really believe anything Apple says about themselves?

Good Lord...if Apple told you idiots the sky was made of magic beans, you would line up a day in advance to buy some from them.

"retarded legacy tripe"? no, what you think you're describing is just consumerization of IT. Once people get over the "coolness" of these iWhatevers, and/or realize they aren't worth the cost, risks, or effort of putting up with Apple's BS...that will be the end of that. In the enterprise at least, I'm sure there will continue to be idiot consumers who will continue to buy their devices.

And, I'm willing to bet $1000 you will be one of those idiots.
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Funny...This article posted on the same day as...
SonofaSailor 3rd Sep 2010
Another article about the spam problems of the software (iTunes) you have to have in order to support these "enterprise ready" devices.

No thanks. I don't allow any iAnything on my Bank's network. no iPhones, iPads, iTunes...iNothing. and every week, Apple and this website remind me why. (moveover, neither does any other bank in the state of Arkansas, according to the ASBD)
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RE: Apple getting serious about enterprise, SMB accounts
Graham Ellison 4th Sep 2010
@SonofaSailor

You're a brave man. I applaud your confidence too. But you seriously need to do some research. Since we now have a bet, I feel no need to educate you further.

I will however take issue with your naive and insulting characterizations. Did you have a bad experience with a Mac owner some time in your short development? I see your type of attack occasionally and recognise it as behaviour that's the result of some trauma.

It manifests itself as anger and envy, and includes many of the kinds of terms you use here.

I feel much the same about Facebook, and I too suffered a trauma on there which had a lasting effect on my impression of the site. But I then did some research, concluded there was a way to use it safely, and now do so in a limited capacity.

I was going to suggest you could try something similar with Apple, but then you'd just think I was evangelizing - which I never do.

The fact is, Apple has limited resources. In many ways the company is still run like a startup. So any move into the enterprise is going to take a change of behaviour. And that's by business. I study changes in behaviour. All changes in behaviour are indicators.

Apple's history is one of reacting to changes in behaviour and the adaption of new technologies in effective ways to take advantage of those changes. Now, I'm not going to list them all here, but one is the increased demand [and that's the important word] from enterprise customers who buy Macs through Apple Resellers.

There are now enough factors and indicators at play to make it worthwhile Apple expending their own resources.

Apple's business model is the most successful on the planet. Rolling it out to the enterprise is the obvious evolution, but it had to be done at the right moment.

On the other hand, Microsoft's business model is based on the Cali Cartel example. If I need to explain that, I will.
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