Busting myths for businesses seeking to switch to Mac

Photo by Tetsuya Tomomatsu on Unsplash

While I don’t blame business owners for being hesitant as any switch may temporarily disrupt operations, in my opinion, it is well worth it in the long run from a cost and efficiency perspective.

Here are a few common myths that often deter business owners when considering switching to Mac, as well as some facts as to why they shouldn’t be reluctant to take the plunge:

“It’s too expensive”

A large concern that businesses have when moving over to Mac is the initial setup costs. And while an Apple device may be more expensive than your standard laptop, one has to take into account the lifetime cost of the device. Apple’s strategy has always been to build quality machines with top-of-the-range specs, designed to last a long time.

Consider the purchase price a percentage of the lifetime cost of that device.

A PC’s purchase price is around 18% of its lifetime cost, while a Mac’s purchase price is approximately 50%. What this means is that you will generally spend far more money on maintaining your PC than you would a Mac, and maintenance costs will far exceed your initial outlay.

In 2015, IBM replaced its PCs with Mac, and has since then deployed it to 100,000 of its employees (Source: Jamf white paper)”. IBM calculated that the decision to switch from PC to Mac has saved it around $273-$535 per device (based on an estimated four-year lifespan), potentially saving the company, on average, around $40,000,000 since the decision was first implemented.

Mac also has a far higher retained value over a five-year period.

“It doesn’t work on our network”

Apple uses Server Message Block (SMB) as its file sharing protocol – the standard networking protocol utilised by Windows. This means that Apple devices work seamlessly on a traditional business network. And because MacOS is built on top of UNIX – a multi-user, multi-tasking computer operating system – it supports all the standard internet network stacks.

Apple has also partnered with Cisco to ensure iOS devices work seamlessly across Cisco networks.

“It’s not a business tool”

Microsoft developed Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the Mac first; establishing Mac as a leader in business software.

Apple also reinstated its role in the business sector when it switched to the Intel processor in 2006, making it possible to install Windows natively on a Mac. It was also the first time we could compare apples with apples (intentional pun!), and MacBook Pro was voted the best ‘Windows PC’ for three years running.

There are also security advantages. MacOS has FileVault (full disk encryption) and is shipped standard with XProtect, to safeguard against malware attacks.

“Our employees will struggle to make the switch”

Regardless of whether you are moving to a different device or a new operating system, your staff should always receive the necessary skills training.

Learning to use a new device is not as challenging as some would believe...