Apple Mac devices are rapidly gaining popularity in the enterprise world. Although not originally designed for work purposes, the Mac is quickly becoming a viable choice for companies. But despite its growing corporate popularity, the most popular operating system used by organizations worldwide continues to be Windows.
Windows is the meta family of graphical operating systems developed and marketed globally by Microsoft. It has been ruling the market since 1995. And as per Statcounter, Windows 10, hands down, is the most popular windows OS holding a market share of about 78.34% ยน . Enterprises have adopted Microsoft because it offers a wealth of tools and easy-to-use features.
The majority of general-purpose personal computers come with Windows OS pre-installed, making it one of the most popular choices for enterprises worldwide.
Here are some other reasons why Microsoft is the most popular OS in the world:
Windows is mostly pre-loaded in a computer at the time of purchase, which may be the reason behind its popularity. People can either use a pre-loaded OS or upgrade or change the operating system. Windows is available in different versions:
A Windows system is compatible with the majority of software programs in the market. It supports all types of software including PC games and programs. Microsoft Office application program is what made Windows so popular. Additionally, the Windows world is filled with freeware and shareware, which are free to download and can be used to run several applications on PC.
Windows is popular because many enterprises embraced it early on. Many businesses started using it first, so it got naturally filtered into homes and other offices because individuals were familiar with it.
Windows has always been reliable. Microsoft developed Windows by providing a host of features, ease of use, and reliability. This made Windows intuitive and popular worldwide.
The last few years have shown something that was unimaginable for the world just a decade ago: Mac in business. According to a surveyยฒ, 71% of high school students prefer using Mac to PC. Additionally, around 81% of individuals admitted that they want to continue using their Mac computers at workstations as well. And nearly eight out of 10 employees believe their companies should offer them Mac machines to work on.
Despite the obvious demand, IT teams are still reluctant to use Mac in offices because they believe macOS wonโt cooperate with their PC or the domain. Thereโs also a misconception that Mac systems are difficult and expensive to repair and maintain.
Mac is beneficial in the corporate world and can offer several advantages down the road, you can take a look at the best device management software for macOS. Hereโs why organizations should consider adopting macOS for their work and employees:
macOS is not a mainstay in businesses yet, but creative departments have almost always used Mac machines.
Earlier, IT departments disagreed to administer these devices because they didnโt quite know how to manage them. But of late, however, the market has witnessed a surge of available tools, one such being Scalefusion – offering Mac Enterprise Management Software, that can help IT admins manage the Mac. Certain tools can also integrate Mac into Microsoft Intune for ease of use and supervision. Additionally, organizations are learning to take advantage of web apps that arenโt as platform-dependent as before.
Here are the benefits of macOS:
But before extending Mac to employees, the following steps should be taken:
Organizations that have done legacy development in Windows apps will be reluctant to offer Mac to employees. But if the IT department can manage Mac lightly, it is definitely worth the switch.
Mac offers workers built-in security and an operating system that is always looking to help them out. It is proven that employees work more efficiently when theyโre allowed to use familiar devices at work. For instance, Intelยณ has witnessed an increase in productivity by allowing employees to use the same devices at work as they used at home. When employees at IBM were given this choice, 73% of them chose a Mac.
By adopting the Mac route, companies will find that devices are not as difficult to manage as they previously were in the corporate environment. Statistically, IBM also recorded that compared to Mac, PCs were three times more expensive to manage.
A Parallels survey states that over 55% of businesses are now allowed to use Macs to carry out their daily business activities. With Apple’s continuous advancements and innovations each year promising a bunch of surprises for the entire Apple fanbase, Mac has a lot of potential to mark its establishment into the enterprise world.
Mac for enterprises is a tad bit different from Mac for personal use. Hereโs what you need to know about Mac for Enterprise use.
Apple Business Manager or ABM is a web-based portal that can be used by IT administrators to deploy all the following devices:
The Apple Business Manager is a Mac device management tool that works seamlessly well with a companyโs chosen mobile device management (MDM) solution to deliver the following purposes:
The Device Enrollment Program (DEP) and the Volume Purchase Program
(VPP) have now been entirely integrated into Apple Business Manager, therefore
organizations can smoothly bring together anything they need to deploy Apple devices.
Recent improvements in Mac security, deployment, and management have allowed organizations to transition from a traditional directory binding to an acute provisioning model that can easily deploy processes centering around each user. This model exclusively relies on tools that are specifically built into the macOS.
Using ABM has a myriad of benefits ranging from ease of use, business data security, to quick and easy enrollment process, among other things.
Hereโs how the Apple Business Manager simplifies the mammoth task of enrolling devices into the system.
Using Apple Business Manager, IT admins can automate device enrollment. This is very useful because it gives organizations a quick, streamlined process of deploying corporate-owned (supervised) Apple devices and enrolling them in the MDM without the need of physically touching or preparing each device for the process. It reduces time and lessens the number of hours IT admins might have to dedicate to such a cumbersome task.
With Apple Business Manager, organizations can easily buy content in bulk to push on their devices. Doesnโt matter what the workforce uses, be it an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, ABMโs Volume Purchase Plan can help IT admins gather essential content in volume from the App store, which is ready for deployment with secure distribution and flexible options.
Apple Business Manager enables organizations to create as well as manage accounts for each employee, which can be integrated with the existing infrastructure. The tool also provides full access to all the Apple services and applications along with a peek into Apple Business Manager.
This section is specially designed for IT admins and contains all the details of mobile device management as proposed by Apple for macOS.
An MDM allows companies to configure devices securely, over the air. Additionally, an MDM can help companies with the three basic list of tasks:
There are two basic ways to enrolling devices into an MDM platform:
The following Apple devices have a built-in framework that supports different Mac Enterprise Management Software solutions:
Some more concepts that corporations need to understand before enrolling their Macs onto MDM are listed below:
A configuration profile is created in an XML file, which also contains payloads that are able to authorize information and load settings and onto Apple devices. With configuration profiles, admins can easily automate the settings configuration, restrictions, accounts, and credentials. There are three ways to create these files:
Furthermore, there are two ways to apply configuration profiles on a Mac:
Please note that iPhones, iPads, and Apple TVs do not recognize more than one profile. However, Mac computers can have multiple users, which is why admins have the liberty to base payloads and settings for macOS profiles depending on the user.
A device is supervised only when it is owned by the organization. Supervision provides companies additional control over a deviceโs restrictions and configurations.
Mac computers are supervised under the following conditions:
Companies usually configure a payload for managing certain settings on Apple devices. For instance, IT admins can have different payloads that will require a complex passcode for populating an Exchange account. This account will have all the Exchange server information with an additional VPN for mac configuration for the device.
Companies can either enable or disable restrictions to prevent users from accessing certain apps, services, or functions of any Apple device thatโs enrolled with the MDM solution.
Simply put, profile removal is solely dependent on how it is installed. Profiles can be deleted through MDM solution, Apple Business Manager, Apple School School Manager, as well as Apple Configurator
Please note: All profiles can be removed by wiping all the data from the device.
For unsupervised devices, profiles can also be removed by the user.
Mac offers a UNIX-like experience along with a hist of commercial applications. It runs without viruses, reboots, and upgrades and requires lesser maintenance. That is why it is about time for organizations to adopt macOS in their ecosystem.
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