Many companies have found that the disruption of moving from Windows to Mac can be minimal and has considerable benefits, according to MacNewsWorld on Monday.
In the past, small to medium business (SMB) owners were concerned about file compatibility and the higher cost of Macintosh systems. However, changes in technology are changing the prospects for small business.
"In short, switching to a Mac infrastructure has been far less disruption than I imagined, with far greater usability and far smoother operation," Stever Robbins, CEO of the Stever Robbins Company," said. "I kept waiting and putting it off. Then my Windows computer kept crashing. I lost three-and-a-half days of my billable time as a consultant in getting my PC working again," he explained. "The Mac changed my life, truly. I canit imagine voluntarily switching back to Windows."
One of the hidden costs in operating a PC environment is the necessity to deal with viruses and make sure systems are secure and remain highly available. "David Griswold, president and founder of Oregon-based Sustainable Harvest Coffee. He crossed over to Macs three years ago after being hammered with too many PC viruses," Jack Germain wrote.
Another concern SMB owners had in the past was the lack of software for the Mac. But this is no longer the case. "What cost me hundreds of dollars to cobble together poorly on a PC comes built-in with the Mac, all working smoothly," said Robbins. "Overall, the total cost of software and hardware is not any more costly [on a Mac] than it is on Windows."
Virtualization has also made the change over less dramatic. "The only real cost is the price of Windows to run under Parallels [which costs $79]. To run Windows you must have a site license, but that cost is less," Stever Robbins said. "It is hard to leave Windows behind completely. It is a world standard. So it becomes a question of do I buy two computers or buy Parallels."
Technology has made it easier than in the past to think about a Macintosh environment in SMB. Cross platform interoperability, virtualization, open source software, Internet based software from Google all combined with smart implementation strategies have combined to make it a practical change over with operational cost savings.