June 6th, 2000

[4:00 PM] IDC Reports That Apple #1 Vendor In US Education by Wes George International Data Corp. (IDC) released a report today confirming that Apple retains the educational sales heavy weight title both in the US and worldwide. IDC's first quarter Worldwide Education Market Report claims Apple holds 26 percent of the US education market and 14 percent of the worldwide education market. Mitch Mandich, senior VP of worldwide sales at Apple told Reuters, "We consistently listen to our customers and work hard to design the best products that meet both classroom and administrative needs. Only Apple provides the innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings that together provide unparalleled solutions for the education market.'' The Mac Observer Spin: It's not surprising that Apple's commitment to the needs of teachers and schools is paying off handsomely as the Information Age finally trickles down to the teaching bureaucracies. Combine that commitment with the iMac, iBook, G4 servers and AirPort and Mr. Mandich is right -- Apple has the killer education package solution that can't be had elsewhere. It should be noted that the education market won't be saturated till every school desk has a networked PC sitting on it. By that measure the education market is a decade behind both the enterprise and the consumer spaces. Apple's future in education is huge. Some Observers have pointed out to us in the past that despite being the #1 education vendor, the Mac OS itself is still a distant #2 in terms of operating systems. Apple may have lost ground in the education market during the mid-90's, but the company appears to be taking it back steadily. In other words, hooray for Apple! Apple