A new survey – based on the responses of 300 IT professionals, managers and executives from commercial organizations of 50 to 10,000+ employees from around the world – indicates Mac and iPhones are easier for IT administrators to deploy than PCs and other smartphone platforms.
Approximately 91 percent of enterprise organizations use Macs, according to a survey by Jamf, a provider of Apple device management software, while 99 percent report the use of iPhones and iPads. The survey also found the amount of Mac and iOS usage growing year-on-year, with 74 percent of organizations reporting increased adoption of Macs for 2016 compared to 2015, with 76 percent seeing increased usage for iOS.
Respondents point to the ability to choose the tools to work with as the reason behind the increased adoption. 44% of organizations surveyed offer employees the choice of a PC or a Mac, and 71% offered an option of an iPhone or another smartphone.
IBM, who began deploying Macs to its workforce back in 2015, is now has close to 100,000 Macs in operation inside its walls. An internal IBM survey showed 73% of IBM employees want a Mac as their next work machine.
62% of IT administrators participating in the Jamf survey said the Mac is as easy or easier to deploy than a PC. The figure is 93% for iPhones and iPads.
66% of respondents claim it’s as easy or easier to maintain a secure environment on a Mac than a PC. 90% say it’s easier to secure a mobile device running iOS than those on Android or another platform.
Macs are as easy or easier to provide support for than PCs, according to 63% of those surveyed. The number rises to 89% for Apple’s mobile devices. Software deployment is said to be as easy or easier on Mac say 57% of the survey group. That jumps to 90% for iOS devices.
“Apple is gaining ground in the enterprise because employees prefer devices they use in their personal lives,” Jamf summarizes, adding that the ability to use a device they are comfortable with impacts productivity and job satisfaction. “IT admins are adapting, finding that deployment, device configuration, security, and support are easier with Apple than other operating systems.”
The survey was conducted in January 2017, and the survey sample is made up of 300 IT professionals, including managers and executives, from commercial organizations around the world with employee counts ranging from 50 to over 10,000.
