As bad as the recession is for consumer computer purchases, it looks to be truly ugly for corporate computer purchases (see Microsoft’s recent statements if you need confirmation of that).

Perhaps this recession will finally change the corporate paradigm once and for all:  we the corporation are no longer supplying our employees with computers.  You’ve got your own laptop before you took this job; now bring it into the office! 

As corporations follow the overriding trend to port all applications to the web, it starts to be feasible to support any device that connects to the Internet. 

This will dramatically reduce corporate IT budgets.  Not only less hardware purchase costs, but less maintenance costs, software costs, server costs, etc.  The recession should force these cuts.

And this would be a huge boon to the Mac, relative to the PC.  It would end the one advantage that Microsoft still has of the perception as the only computer for big business. 

So now, all of those college kids coming to work on day 1 would be bringing their Macs into the office. 

Game over.

macorange - 25 January 2009 06:00 AM

As bad as the recession is for consumer computer purchases, it looks to be truly ugly for corporate computer purchases (see Microsoft’s recent statements if you need confirmation of that).

Perhaps this recession will finally change the corporate paradigm once and for all:  we the corporation are no longer supplying our employees with computers.  You’ve got your own laptop before you took this job; now bring it into the office! 

As corporations follow the overriding trend to port all applications to the web, it starts to be feasible to support any device that connects to the Internet. 

This will dramatically reduce corporate IT budgets.  Not only less hardware purchase costs, but less maintenance costs, software costs, server costs, etc.  The recession should force these cuts.

And this would be a huge boon to the Mac, relative to the PC.  It would end the one advantage that Microsoft still has of the perception as the only computer for big business. 

So now, all of those college kids coming to work on day 1 would be bringing their Macs into the office. 

Game over.

I see one major problem security policy.  If I was carrying my laptop to work I would not want them to take all my crap off the machine and the IT folks will spend more time repairing the network then the cost of hardware.  That said I think many organizations are becoming open to a mixed computing environment and if they give users a choice many more will chose MAC.  The days of Windows being the only choice are numbered and this bodes well for Apple and future market share.

macorange - 25 January 2009 06:00 AM

As bad as the recession is for consumer computer purchases, it looks to be truly ugly for corporate computer purchases (see Microsoft’s recent statements if you need confirmation of that).

Perhaps this recession will finally change the corporate paradigm once and for all:  we the corporation are no longer supplying our employees with computers.  You’ve got your own laptop before you took this job; now bring it into the office! 

As corporations follow the overriding trend to port all applications to the web, it starts to be feasible to support any device that connects to the Internet. 

This will dramatically reduce corporate IT budgets.  Not only less hardware purchase costs, but less maintenance costs, software costs, server costs, etc.  The recession should force these cuts.

And this would be a huge boon to the Mac, relative to the PC.  It would end the one advantage that Microsoft still has of the perception as the only computer for big business. 

So now, all of those college kids coming to work on day 1 would be bringing their Macs into the office. 

Game over.

Actually, there is a trend developing in which enterprises either allow employees to choose their computers or split the cost for an employee’s computer they are free to use at both work and home. This reduces IT costs.

You are correct in noticing the trend toward Web solutions. I hope to unplug the last server at my office sometime in the next few weeks. It’s not that we’ve moved exclusively to the Web but it dramatically reduces the amount of time I need to spend on computer administration.

In the era of flash drive ubiquity and all PCs having at least a CD burner, it’s easier to manage, archive and store data without the complexities of an expensive Windows server or servers. This might not be a workable solution for large office units or enterprises that are national in scope, but the amount of critical data that needs to be archived and stored in my work environment is surprisingly low after evaluating the systems and user habits.

There’s no longer an issue with platform compatibility and in my work environment and most of the work flow is performed with software resources and data files that can be used cross-platform.

DT: I think your premise is a stretch. HERE is a story by my local Saint Paul writer Julio on Windows 7. In 9 months Apple will have some competition again. Julio, an admitted apple fanboy, says windows 7 is a great copy of the mac OS. Most corporations may delay purchasing new systems until 2010.

artman1033 - 26 January 2009 04:42 PM

DT: I think your premise is a stretch. HERE is a story by my local Saint Paul writer Julio on Windows 7. In 9 months Apple will have some competition again. Julio, an admitted apple fanboy, says windows 7 is a great copy of the mac OS. Most corporations may delay purchasing new systems until 2010.

I missed the part where Julio said it would be more secure than the current sieve of a product they sell.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10553503&ref=rss