This article is part of our Employee Choice series, in which we explore the trend and impacts of encouraging workers to choose their own devices and operating systems.
During a company meeting a few years ago, when my new role as CIO was announced, one of the first questions from the audience was, “So are we all going to have to use Macs, now?” Even then, my strong preference for using a Mac for my business computing was well known, even though it was not officially supported by the IT department. That support changed when I took on the new role. Of course, I would never dream of forcing anyone to use any particular technology to do their job, recognizing that personal choice leads to higher productivity and lower costs. My response to the question was, “No, but you’ll have a choice of computer and operating system to meet your personal preferences and requirements.” Within a year, more than half of the systems for both technical and business users were Macs.
Supporting Macs in the Enterprise
When we speak with organizations about Macs in the enterprise, many support organizations express concerns about them. From questions about device management systems to doubts about enterprise security, it often seems easier to consider Apple products to be consumer-only. However, the data shows something different: allowing the choice of Apple products among a set of approved options actually lowers support costs….