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Using Macs in an office environment

Whether to use a Mac in corporate environment has become one of those questions that is simply a matter of preference, rather than anything else. My personal opinion is that if you find that Macs perform better and is capable of tackling all business activities then, why not?

Ok, with graphic designers and web developers aside, I investigated the pros and cons of using a Mac and why now companies seem to be switching to it, rather than staying with Windows.

Well, the reason is simple; in addition to the “cool” factor of owning a Mac there are many employees who would rather use a Mac than a Windows PC in an office environment. Having been used to iPhones, people are demanding the same experience when it comes to the computer they use regularly.

I carried out a little bit of research and there are three clear motives to why Macs are becoming the preferred product in corporate environment over Windows;

First things first: Cost. Running a Mac appears to be cheaper than running Windows since you do not have to pay for server CALs. If you have a company with 100 employees, the money that you are going to spend on the licenses alone can be extortionate. Mac OS X Server does not require you to have a client access license, which is great for business owners and is quite a big saving.

The other reason that I have found is security. When it comes to it, Macs are renowned to have excellent security ‘as standard’, as they have a tighter UNIX code. You generally don’t have to worry that much about your Mac being attacked by a gazillion different Trojans, worms etc. Even further, an anti-virus isn’t necessary on a Mac since it maintains its own anti-virus features within the operating system itself, which is yet another way to cut costs down. In recent days, Macs are however becoming a lot more prone to Malware, not virus attacks.  The difference is, Apple usually has to deal with one or two threats, not 1000s.  Hence, they can build a patch quickly and effectively and get it out usually in a few days.

When you outweigh the advantages of Macs, it seems like a logical conclusion that they should be used in business, as they are cheaper for the business owner. However, thus said, there are still companies that would prefer Windows and would only have Windows PCs available in their offices.

The familiarity of the Windows operating system is worldwide and lets face it, people find it difficult to adjust to a completely different platform. I’m a prolific Windows user myself and my background is heavily established in a Windows support environment. I simply find all this difficult to ignore and perhaps users are fighting a lost cause if they stay on Windows. Who knows what the future holds for Microsoft Windows, but is it time for a change?