Business justificaiton for OS X over Windows 7?
First of all, I'm the happy owner of a MacBook Pro, and have been using Macs as my primary computer since 2005. At this writing, I do not have any Windows installation anywhere, even on BootCamp.
Having said that, here's a challenge for Mac fans out there:
What business functionality is missing from Windows 7 that OS X can provide? Phrased differently, what features in OS X that are missing from Windows 7 are important to business users running computers in a work setting where consumer applications are absolutely not needed and in some cases frowned upon?
Arguments like "it's more user friendly" or "it's better designed", as compelling as they are in the consumer space, don't really count in this context. The arguments must centre on improvements in revenue generation or reductions in cost (ie efficiency)
Let's say for the sake of argument that hardware costs and support are not relevant in this discussion. I want to centre on the merits of the operating systems themselves.
Good luck!
Having said that, here's a challenge for Mac fans out there:
What business functionality is missing from Windows 7 that OS X can provide? Phrased differently, what features in OS X that are missing from Windows 7 are important to business users running computers in a work setting where consumer applications are absolutely not needed and in some cases frowned upon?
Arguments like "it's more user friendly" or "it's better designed", as compelling as they are in the consumer space, don't really count in this context. The arguments must centre on improvements in revenue generation or reductions in cost (ie efficiency)
Let's say for the sake of argument that hardware costs and support are not relevant in this discussion. I want to centre on the merits of the operating systems themselves.
Good luck!
Comments
I'd say mainly ease of use and little to no licensing costs for running a mail and calendar server.
Branch office caching
Direct access
Bitlocker to go
App locker
Group Policy Objects
more robust firewall
more granular permissioning
network access protection
TabletPC features built-in
Virtualization built-in
boot from VHD
works better with all other MS products (Office, Exchange, Terminal Server, etc)
MS has widely publicized the improvements in Win7 but Apple has only recently published advancements in Snow Leopard.
Here are a few thoughts about OS X
Time Machine - pointless on a corporate network
64-bit - so is Win7
QuickTime - more media is available in WMA format
Print to PDF - Great feature and definitely one up on Win7
Grand Central - read this
OpenCL - DirectX 11 will have compute shader technology
Features in OS X that I love that help me complete tasks quicker than in Windows:
Spaces
Expose
Quicklook
Stacks
more free software I think
Finder is better than Windows Explorer
my Macbook Pro trackpad is way more functional than anything on Windows laptops
From the vantage point of corporate network (say 500 people or more) here are a few features that Windows 7 has over Mac (some features require specific versions of Win 7 and/or need to be paired with Windows 2008 R2 server):
Branch office caching
Direct access -- to what?
Bitlocker to go
App locker
Group Policy Objects
more robust firewall -- install one for free that is available to be even more robust
more granular permissioning -- compared to Leopard or Snow Leopard?
network access protection
TabletPC features built-in -- and?
Virtualization built-in -- and? Microsoft doesn't lead in this area
boot from VHD
works better with all other MS products (Office, Exchange, Terminal Server, etc) -- I'd expect so.
MS has widely publicized the improvements in Win7 but Apple has only recently published advancements in Snow Leopard.
Here are a few thoughts about OS X
Time Machine - pointless on a corporate network
64-bit - so is Win7
QuickTime - more media is available in WMA format
Print to PDF - Great feature and definitely one up on Win7
Grand Central - read this
OpenCL - DirectX 11 will have compute shader technology
Features in OS X that I love that help me complete tasks quicker than in Windows:
Spaces
Expose
Quicklook
Stacks
more free software I think
Finder is better than Windows Explorer
my Macbook Pro trackpad is way more functional than anything on Windows laptops
Please clarify this one on how this is Microsoft's answer to OpenCL. Seriously.
excerpt from [opencl-1.0.43 pdf specification]
OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is an open royalty-free standard for general purpose parallel programming across CPUs, GPUs and other processors, giving software developers portable and efficient access to the power of these heterogeneous processing platforms.
OpenCL supports a wide range of applications, ranging from embedded and consumer software to HPC solutions, through a low-level, high-performance, portable abstraction. By creating an efficient, close-to-the-metal programming interface, OpenCL will form the foundation layer of a parallel computing ecosystem of platform-independent tools, middleware and applications.
OpenCL is particularly suited to play an increasingly significant role in emerging interactive graphics applications that combine general parallel compute algorithms with graphics rendering pipelines.
OpenCL consists of an API for coordinating parallel computation across
heterogeneous processors; and a cross-platform programming language with a well-specified computation environment. The OpenCL standard:
First of all, I'm the happy owner of a MacBook Pro, and have been using Macs as my primary computer since 2005. At this writing, I do not have any Windows installation anywhere, even on BootCamp.
Having said that, here's a challenge for Mac fans out there:
What business functionality is missing from Windows 7 that OS X can provide? Phrased differently, what features in OS X that are missing from Windows 7 are important to business users running computers in a work setting where consumer applications are absolutely not needed and in some cases frowned upon?
Arguments like "it's more user friendly" or "it's better designed", as compelling as they are in the consumer space, don't really count in this context. The arguments must centre on improvements in revenue generation or reductions in cost (ie efficiency)
Let's say for the sake of argument that hardware costs and support are not relevant in this discussion. I want to centre on the merits of the operating systems themselves.
Good luck!
- A reputable research firm (forgot the name right now) has concluded that your average worker is 30% more time efficient using Leopard versus Vista. This is not only due to the OS but also the ilife and iwork software suite which is much faster and efficient than windows based business software.
- Leopard clients and servers take a much smaller IT staff to maintain. If I would venture a guess I would say 1/4 the size. So right there is a reduction in IT expenses.
- Leopard clients suffer far less downtime than Windows. This would save your company a bundle over time.
- Macs are much more secure than Windows despite how others twists statistics to conclude the opposite.
- Mac hardware are also cheaper than Windows. If you compare enterprise-level Windows hardware they will cost just as much as Macs but have more failures of harddrives, motherboards and other components. They will also have lower quality components overall. Over time one spends more, not less, to maintain windows hardware.
Please clarify this one on how this is Microsoft's answer to OpenCL. Seriously.
excerpt from [opencl-1.0.43 pdf specification]
DirectX 11 - see here
Direct Access - is the name of MS's always on VPN. When laptop users are traveling outside the corporate firewall their network traffic is redirected back into the corporate network there by enforcing corporate browsing policies, access to file shares, and any other corporate resources
All of your other points require third party apps and therefore do not relate to the OPs original question.
From the vantage point of corporate network (say 500 people or more) here are a few features that Windows 7 has over Mac (some features require specific versions of Win 7 and/or need to be paired with Windows 2008 R2 server):
Branch office caching
Direct access
Bitlocker to go
App locker
Group Policy Objects
more robust firewall
more granular permissioning
network access protection
TabletPC features built-in
Virtualization built-in
boot from VHD
works better with all other MS products (Office, Exchange, Terminal Server, etc)
Apple can improve on OS X to match all of these features. It is a lack of significant enterprise focus in my opinion.
Firewall / network access protection -> I really don't see how the firewall in Windows 7 can be better than iptables. UI candy maybe?
App locker -> the existing parental controls in OS X can be extended to match App locker. Apple needs to do this.
Virtualization -> this is big on the server side. 3rd party solutions work well though.
Tablet -> This is a client requirement and has nothing to do with a corporate network. OS X has its own touch api for gestures on the track pad.
Works better with all other MS products -> Exchange support in Snow Leopard is built into mail. Microsoft does make a version of office for OS X. This is not Apple's problem. I would recommend corporates to move to ODF.
Boot from VHD -> Netboot has been around for a while on OS X.
More granular permissions -> Leopard introduced permissions to match active directory and not just the Unix permissions. I need to see what Windows 7 is doing more.
Direct access -> Apple needs to make a corporate version of their "back to my mac" sharing via MobileMe. Have a look at MobileMe features.
Branch office caching -> need to see if any 3rd party solutions are available. This is missing on OS X.
Bitlocker to Go -> Just create a encrypted disk image on the media on you want. You also have encryption of your home directory via FileVault. This is already present on OS X.
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Just some observations based on superficial analysis. It is not like Windows 7 is bringing something revolutionary into the game.
I totally agree. Even though a greater number of people out there have not used a Mac, I bet it would be a lot faster for them to get started and feel comfortable using it over a Windows machine.
Not to mention that a mac requires very little maintenance and the occasional accidents are few and far in between. For the macs maintained by my business the problems related to macs stand at less than once a year per machine.
Apple can improve on OS X to match all of these features. It is a lack of significant enterprise focus in my opinion.
Firewall / network access protection -> I really don't see how the firewall in Windows 7 can be better than iptables. UI candy maybe?
App locker -> the existing parental controls in OS X can be extended to match App locker. Apple needs to do this.
Virtualization -> this is big on the server side. 3rd party solutions work well though.
Tablet -> This is a client requirement and has nothing to do with a corporate network. OS X has its own touch api for gestures on the track pad.
Works better with all other MS products -> Exchange support in Snow Leopard is built into mail. Microsoft does make a version of office for OS X. This is not Apple's problem. I would recommend corporates to move to ODF.
Boot from VHD -> Netboot has been around for a while on OS X.
More granular permissions -> Leopard introduced permissions to match active directory and not just the Unix permissions. I need to see what Windows 7 is doing more.
Direct access -> Apple needs to make a corporate version of their "back to my mac" sharing via MobileMe. Have a look at MobileMe features.
Branch office caching -> need to see if any 3rd party solutions are available. This is missing on OS X.
Bitlocker to Go -> Just create a encrypted disk image on the media on you want. You also have encryption of your home directory via FileVault. This is already present on OS X.
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Just some observations based on superficial analysis. It is not like Windows 7 is bringing something revolutionary into the game.
I'd love to see Apple include Shorewall 4.4 [http://shorewall.net/] with a Cocoa Interface and seamless integration into OS X Server [Shorewall/Shorewall6]/OS X [Shorewall Lite/Shorewall6 Lite].
Well, I don't know about the rest of the features, but I decided to splurge the cash and got me a 24inch iMac today. Moved data from my G4 imac over a firewire 9->6 pin cable. Took 2 hours after both were on 10.5.7. It successfully moved everything. All the downloaded apps from the web that I had licensed (along with the license), my emails, everything. I just logged on with my old user id and password (it copies over all users with their data intact) and its like I am working on my old machine (only much faster and bigger... ). Whoever wrote the migration assistant and whoever did the testing, hats off. I have not seen anything similar in any of the OSes I used. This has been a wonderful migration experience for me.
Yep. The same thing happened for me. Thing is this is only one of the many features that makes Leopards light years ahead of Windows XP, vista, 7, or whatever.
You can train a bunch of office people to use Macs and their apps in a far shorter time than on Windows machine with fewer troubles down the road leading to greater productivity and less down time.
Well, I don't know about the rest of the features, but I decided to splurge the cash and got me a 24inch iMac today. Moved data from my G4 imac over a firewire 9->6 pin cable. Took 2 hours after both were on 10.5.7. It successfully moved everything. All the downloaded apps from the web that I had licensed (along with the license), my emails, everything. I just logged on with my old user id and password (it copies over all users with their data intact) and its like I am working on my old machine (only much faster and bigger... ). Whoever wrote the migration assistant and whoever did the testing, hats off. I have not seen anything similar in any of the OSes I used. This has been a wonderful migration experience for me.
This is the payoff for having a well designed system that was built for multiple users from the start. Having all your settings stored in your home folder as opposed to a global registry makes moving a breeze.
OS X is the most secure OS: Charlie Miller said it best "OS X is the safest OS but not the most secure" (paraphrasing). True, there is less malware but the attacks are changing and facts cannot be argued
Training is cheaper: My experience has been that people learn only what they need to learn to keep their jobs. Mac owners have proven to want to learn more than Windows owners but in the corporate world this does not apply. You cannot compare someone who chooses a computer versus someone who is issued a computer. MS also maintains a MUCH better web presence for troubleshooting.
More support personnel is needed for Windows infrastructures: This completely depends on the qualifications of your support personnel. Companies that have Mac users typically rely on those users to perform tasks that should be reserved for dedicated IT staff i.e. backups, email, calendaring, file sharing, etc. Leaving these operations up to the users leaves no accountability because when a shared file gets deleted its very difficult to track down who deleted that file because users don't know how to permission correctly. Additionally, companies who have "user managed" IT departments usually do not align business needs with technical competency. Tasks are often set up with workgroup functionality rather than taking into account enterprise guidelines. The "computer guy" in the Mac office is usually the most computer literate person rather than the most computer competent person. It may be cheaper and appear to be easier but it's not necessarily better nor does it protect the company as it should. This is one of the reasons why so many small businesses are providing the bandwidth for bot nets. Not because of Microsoft's lack of security but because non-qualified computer guys fail to implement basic security guidelines.
Apple can improve on OS X to match all of these features. It is a lack of significant enterprise focus in my opinion.
I agree. Apple could have done amazing things with Novel had they purchased them when Novel was still relevant.
Tablet -> This is a client requirement and has nothing to do with a corporate network. OS X has its own touch api for gestures on the track pad
There are MANY businesses that wish they could draw on their laptops ie think construction or building services, Fire Departments, Police, hell even note takers/admin secretaries appreciate this capability. Tablet features have been HUGE in all industries and a major reason why Apple cannot ignore this market. EXTREMELY naive to think otherwise (Mac Tablet anyone?).
Works better with all other MS products -> Exchange support in Snow Leopard is built into mail. Microsoft does make a version of office for OS X. This is not Apple's problem. I would recommend corporates to move to ODF
Exchange is only one backoffice product from Microsoft so expand your vision. Recommending corporations move to ODF is a joke. Right now, MS dictates business document format... period. This is why iLife is "Microsoft Office for the rest of your life". Office is the de-facto standard.
Boot from VHD -> Netboot has been around for a while on OS X.
Netboot is a completely different product. Boot from VHD will enable unlimited installed OSes on a computer. If one fails you boot to another in seconds and you're back in business.
Bitlocker to Go -> Just create a encrypted disk image on the media on you want. You also have encryption of your home directory via FileVault. This is already present on OS
Relying on your end users to encrypt content is against PCI, HIPAA, and many state statues therefore this statement is completely uninformed and potentially dangerous.
It is not like Windows 7 is bringing something revolutionary into the game
For businesses there are PLENTY of revolutionary changes to Win7 and Win Server 2008 R2. Apple is simply a better marketer to the consumer division which seems to get more press.Thanks Steve.
I'll reiterate that I have two Macs and plan to buy a third. However, the OPs original question did not want us to specify intangibles, where I think the Mac dominates over Windows.
If what you say is true, sounds like lots of companies need to improve their hiring practices.
But if you look at it, the iPhone fits very well into the corporate world. That was a segment with an easy entry barrier when you compare it with the stagnant desktop and server segment where multi-million, muti-year contracts with giants in the hardware and software industry are in place. Even if Apple was able to meet all business needs 100%, businesses wont be quick to jump the ship with the legacy garbage lying around. Hopefully iPhone development acts as a trojan horse for OS X development in the future.
Recommending corporations move to ODF is a joke. Right now, MS dictates business document format... period. This is why iLife is "Microsoft Office for the rest of your life". Office is the de-facto standard.
I agree with most of what you said, but this doesn't make a lot of sense. Changing office suites is much easier than replacing Windows or replacing Exchange/Active Directory/etc. Unless the company in question is still in the stone age and maintains a lot of its computing infrastructure in VBA macros, I don't see how Microsoft "dictates business document format". In my experience (YMMV), most Microsoft Office documents are simple Word documents, spreadsheets, or presentation slides. The only parts of MS Office that offer exceptional value are Access and Visio, and there are no real replacements for those.
Besides, a slow transition to ODF by installing a third-party ODF plugin into MS Office and mandating a slow conversion of corporate documents to that format is entirely feasible. It just takes some discipline.
Neither OS is superior in all categories. Anyone claiming the superiority of either OS across the board, has already discredited themselves in the eyes of any level headed manager or company executive. Thus, if waging this case, I highly advise the inclusion of a pros and cons list, not just a list of how one or the other is superior.