According to Gartner, Apple’s Mac operating system will be more commonly present and accepted in the enterprise just like Microsoft is today. In fact, Apple will contine to evolve its Macs to take on more of a mobile characteristic and become more of a competitor to Microsoft in the enterprise market.
“Although Apple’s mobile iPhone and iPads are already as accepted by enterprise IT as is Microsoft, Apple’s Mac systems for laptops/notebooks and desktops remain not commonly accepted by IT. Going forward, Apple will continue to benefit from consumerization and will continue to evolve Macs to take on more iOS characteristics, which will contribute to acceptance of Macs in the enterprise. As such, enterprise acceptance of Apple will continue to be driven by consumer demand,” Gartner’s VP David Mitchell Smith stated.
While Microsoft’s mobile platform is still somewhat new, which includes Windows Phone and Windows 8/RT, the enterprise market will continue to accept these devices due to the history Microsoft has with the enterprise market. Afterall, wouldn’t you trust something that has been there this whole time and just works? Apple, on the other hand, will be a part of a “shifting landscape” according to Garner and enterprises should prepare to see more Apple products designed for the enterprise. In other words, Microsoft won’t be as dominant in this area come 2014.
