Does the Mac platform make sense for office environments?

Although the benefits of the Macintosh platform are widely known, few businesses have been willing to adopt it. New developments, however, are making it easier to do so.

It’s upgrade season in PC land. Following the January 2007 release of Vista, Microsoft’s latest operating system, PC users are being enticed once again to break out their cheque books. Many will have to upgrade their machines big time — Vista calls for a 40GB hard drive with at least 15GB free, 1GB of RAM, and a state-of-the-art graphics card. You can bet that a lot of people will be shopping for new machines.

In the meantime, the Macintosh platform has been quietly gaining market share. Faced with Windows upgrade costs, more people will be tempted to switch. The big question is, will the Mac platform move beyond its traditional niches and make gains in mainstream office environments? Here are some reasons why it just might.

1. Compatibility with Windows

Probably the biggest turnoff about Macs has been the hassle of co-existing with the much larger Windows world — colleagues, clients, and business partners who use Windows, and the many business applications that aren’t available on the Mac platform. Cumbersome interfaces and having to convert files back and forth manually used to be standard fare for Mac users.

Today, life is a lot easier. The current Mac version of Microsoft Office is fully compatible with its Windows equivalent — you can even use the right mouse click that Windows users are so accustomed to. But the biggest change is Apple’s move to an Intel-based processor, which makes it much easier to run Windows on a Mac.

Two new software packages, Parallels and Boot Camp, make it convenient for users to work in both platforms. Because Parallels allows both platforms to run simultaneously, Trevor McIvor, principal at Toronto-based Altius Architecture and Design, uses the program to run the occasional PC session on his Mac notebook.

One of McIvor’s colleagues, associate designer Andy Thomson, uses Boot Camp, which requires that you reboot from one platform to the other, but removes the performance hit from running both platforms.

“The reason for that is I’m using some more heavy duty applications, not just AutoCad to check things, such as 3D applications and video editing,” explains Thomson. Moving back and forth between platforms, however, isn’t difficult. “It’s just restart with an option button held down,” explains Thomson. “This is the fastest Windows load I’ve ever had. And it has the full performance.”

Being able to play in both worlds is removing barriers. “It’s taking away any anxiety that people have about switching,” explains Dr. Robert Conn, founder and CEO of the charity Smartrisk, which today supports 23 Macs. “People used to be reluctant to switch because they were afraid they might not be able to do something. Now that they know they can, it’s given them that security blanket.”

2. Plug and play capability

Installs and changes are, as a rule, much easier in the Mac world. “You just plug it in and it works,” explains Conn. “You don’t have to stop and think about how to make it work, or to figure out what driver you should be loading, or any of that sort of stuff.” Thomson agrees. “There’s none of that driver hunting,” he says.

The reason, according to Toronto-based Mac specialist Toby Vincett, is a more controlled environment. “Apple makes the software and the hardware,” says Vincett, “so they have better integration. Because Windows has to work on every box, they have to do a more generic level of integration.”

This applies to external devices as well. “You can’t just go and put any video card in,” explains Vincett. “You have to put one in that actually works in a Mac. And because it does work in a Mac, Apple already has the video card driver in the operating system, whether you had it installed or not. Same with the printers generally — they’ve got all of the drivers in there.”

3. Freedom from viruses

Bugs and viruses on Macs are virtually non-existent. “In 16 years of running this organization,” explains Conn, “we have never ever had a virus or a worm or any infection in any of our computers. I have friends in the PC world and they are having this trouble constantly.”

McIvor at Altius agrees. “We get spam, of course, but no viruses. I used to run Norton every once in a while, but to be honest, I don’t even bother anymore.”

The Mac world has historically been virus-free for two reasons — it’s a smaller target, and the operating system has more stringent authentication requirements. However, Apple’s migration to the Intel platform will make it easier for attackers to adapt Windows-based viruses for the Mac. “There are more opportunities for people to start writing for the Mac,” explains Vincett, “because it is a PC now.”

4. Lower support costs

Plug and play capability and no viruses add up to lower support costs — neither Altius nor Smartrisk has an IT person on staff. In contrast, Thomson recalls his experience with another architectural firm. “They’ve got 74 machines on their floor — and half of them are Mac and half of them are PC,” says Thomson. “And they would like to go 100% Mac just because the IT overhead is so high. They have a dedicated IT guy, and 60% of his time is spent dealing with worms and viruses and driver problems and glitches.”

5. The Mac user experience

Ron Paley, the owner of Toronto-based Mac retailer Carbon Computing, likens the Mac experience to driving a well-designed car. “The knobs are just kind of the right size, and they’re in the right place,” he explains. “The same applies to the applications, and the way things work on the Mac.” Paley adds, “Not all of us can afford a BMW or a Mercedes, but all of us can afford a Mac.”

“It’s very consistent from program to program,” explains Conn, “the menu structure, the way that the applications work, are all very consistent. So whatever you do as a shortcut in one application will be pretty much the same in another application. So its very easy for people to grasp that and actually become functional very very quickly.”

“I think that the other thing that’s happened in the last year or year and a half,” continues Conn, “is that even the die-hard PC people think Macs are cool.”

The bottom line

When it comes to acquisition, Macs do cost more. Also, if you want to run both Mac and Windows on your machine, you’ll need either Parallels or Boot Camp, and a Windows license as well.

So if your office isn’t plagued with viruses, and you’re not challenged by the prospect of finding the occasional driver to install your new printer, the benefits may not justify the cost — especially if you have a high investment in PC-based applications.

If, however, you are fed up with viruses and driver hunting, your users are rebelling, or you’d like to work in a more aesthetic virtual environment, it might be time to consider the “other” platform. You may have more company than you thought.