Can Apple Sell To Corporate America?
By Paul Shields

A lot has been said lately about the fact that many corporations are still replacing their existing Macintosh machines with Wintel machines. As an IS professional at a major corporation, I also have been tasked with directing the migration from a large installed base of Macintosh machines to a Windows-based platform. While not supportive of this transition, I know there is little I can do in the short-term to stop it. Why is Apple continuing to lose these corporate accounts and can this trend be stopped?

Why are corporations continuing to dump their Macs?
When Apple hit its low point two years ago, everyone in the IS world panicked, and probably justifiably so. There was a legitimate concern that Apple would not be able to continue to provide effective technologies and support. Application support was wavering, a new version of Office seemed remote, and other application vendors were focusing their efforts on Windows development.

The problem got even worse as the new Wintel versions were released and existing Macintosh users started having difficulty communicating with their peers internally and more importantly their customers externally. A Macintosh organization was stuck metaphorically between a rock and hard place. Their existing machines still had adequate horsepower to meet the majority of their needs, but the applications were lagging. They were losing their ability to communicate effectively with the outside world. If you can't communicate effectively with your customers, they will quickly find another company that can. Careful here how you interpret communications. While email was never a problem, what did become a problem were customer communications written in Windows-only applications.

To combat this problem, the IS folks quickly jumped on the Wintel bandwagon, selling the promise of better interoperability and lower costs. This was a fairly easy sell at most corporations because Macintosh machines were generally perceived as more expensive. I know in my own organization, a true cost/benefit analysis was never required. Executives could be easily sold on the mere statement that Windows was cheaper and there would be more applications available. This was an easy sell because Windows was already becoming pervasive. Many people were getting Windows machines for home, and the market presence of Windows-based machines was overwhelming.

So the migrations began. Most companies developed a multi-year transition plan, but when officemates see their buddy with a new machine, they immediately come up with a justification of why they must also switch immediately. Technology envy is alive and rampant in most corporations, and it drove the migrations and conversions at a pretty rapid pace.

Can the situation be turned around?
Thankfully, Apple has managed to turn itself around and is delivering new and powerful solutions. They have cleaned up their marketing message, and are making some inroads back into their stronghold markets like education and publishing. Does this translate into a revival in corporate America?

Not yet, Apple still has a ways to go. Most companies are satisfied with their current solutions. They are getting the performance and stability they need on the desktop, and they have a stable well-trained support staff. The biggest weakness in most corporations currently is server technology and Apple doesn't have an enterprise answer for this problem. No sane IS manager is going to jeopardize their position at this point and start a corporate migration to the Mac.

But all is not lost. The Mac has started to gain back much of what was lost. As much as everyone hates to hear it, Microsoft is a critical player in the corporate market, and the release of Office 98 goes a long way towards re-establishing Apple's ability to market to corporations.

What must Apple do to win back corporate America?
First, be patient and persistent. Corporations standardize on a technology for a few years and then begin the search over again as part of their normal business cycles. Apple needs to keep a presence with these corporations, calling on the right people, demonstrating the capabilities of their products, and making sure they are aware of Apple's viability. Apple should make an effort and respond to every RFP possible, even if their chances of winning are remote.

Second, extend the OS license for UMAX and let them establish a presence in some major accounts. I know the subject of clones is touchy, but Motorola had the right idea when they were in the clone business. Target some of the key accounts where Apple currently has zero market penetration. A second voice selling the virtues and strengths of the Mac OS to corporate ears can only help.

Third, expand the Apple BTO store to corporations. The proposed educational store with online ordering, authorization, and tracking is exactly what corporations want. Both DELL and Gateway have similar offerings under development.

Finally, support key business application developers. Pay them to port their applications to the Mac. I am a strong advocate of the business model Sun and IBM use in the UNIX world. If the sale of a large block of machines to a corporate client depends on the availability of a key application, pay to have that application developed. Winning the contract not only gets you the immediate sale, but brings legitimacy to your products ability to meet customer needs. You can also use that application to help further sales at another company.

Paul Shields has been supporting and using Macintosh computers since 1985. He is currently working at a major telecommunications firm supporting a mixed installed base of Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX workstations. He has been dealing with the issues of integrating the Mac into the corporate world for the last five years. For more information please visit his website at http://www.cyberramp.net/~pshields/

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July 05, 2009