In our B2B department, the demand for Apple devices is constantly increasing. To my surprise, our customers are also increasingly using the devices in heterogeneous environments, together with devices from other manufacturers and other operating systems.
The selection of computers, notebooks and tablets in our online shop is huge. As of today, 19 August 2019, there are more than 800 computers, 1400 notebooks and almost 300 tablets. Although outnumbered, devices with iOS or iPadOS and macOS are becoming increasingly important from a business perspective. I therefore took a closer look at the arguments Apple is using to win the favour of corporate customers.
As Head of B2B, I'm keen to learn all about the purchasing processes our business customers apply. My mind buzzes when it comes to the automisation of daily orders, services designed for projects and flexible financing models for A–Z workplace solutions. Bright ideas generally come to me over an espresso in our company's very own café «Pause».
Product test
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In my perception, Apple devices have always been considered powerful and particularly popular in the cultural and creative industries, where computing-intensive applications and large amounts of data need to be processed. The hardware is undoubtedly powerful, but even Apple only boils with water. In terms of hardware alone, other manufacturers have comparable products. In my opinion, the big difference is the control that Apple exercises over the software. Programmes are either purchased in its own App Store or verified by "gatekeepers". In this way, Apple ensures that software only comes from certified manufacturers that get the most out of the hardware.
With regard to the operating system, the differences can be seen above all in the operation and display. As a macOS newcomer, I felt a little lost in the first few minutes of trying out a MacBook for myself. And yet I was amazed at how quickly I got used to the initially unfamiliar environment. After little more than a day, there was only one thing that was still strange in terms of operation: typing the @ sign. On the other hand, I found the Touch Bar to be a useful, contextual extension of the keyboard, which made me a little more productive and a lot of fun to use.
The apps Pages for word processing, Numbers for spreadsheets and Keynote for presentations are available free of charge on Apple computers and tablets. The software supports most of the common functions that are otherwise familiar from the Office environment. As I work with pivot and cube functions, I had to install Microsoft's Office package (free for me thanks to the company's Office 365 licence). After that, I was able to work without any restrictions, as I am used to from my other computer. Connecting to the Exchange server and opening all common file formats also worked straight away.
All the security aspects that are virtually under the surface can be explained much better by Apple itself, so I'll make it easy for myself and refer directly to their website. The most obvious security feature from the outside is the fingerprint reader, which Apple calls Touch ID. However, fingerprint authentication is nothing new; other manufacturers have been offering it for a long time. One feature that I still miss in macOS is authentication via facial recognition, a function that is already widely used in the Windows world. According to this report, the patent application for this has already been submitted by Apple.
With the Apple Business Manager, Apple provides a tool for deploying devices that is supported by all Apple devices. This is also not an absolutely unique selling point and yet something I can highly recommend to any company. Such deployment portals make this scenario possible: A new employee finds a MacBook, iPad and iPhone at their workplace on their first day at work. He connects the devices to the WLAN, whereupon all the settings and apps are made or installed on the devices as if by magic. Further information on this topic, specifically for Apple, is available here.
An argument often heard against Apple in corporate environments is the high purchase price. The manufacturer counters this argument with the fact that the residual value is correspondingly high and that the investment can be recouped even after a few years of use. I can confirm that Apple devices bought back through our partners are still worth up to 30% of the purchase price after two or three years of use. We have already explained how buy-backs work and why they can be perfectly combined with financing in the following articles.
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After the self-test and the examination of the official arguments, which I derived herefrom, I see many positive aspects that speak in favour of Apple devices in corporate environments. If you take into account the personal preferences of employees in addition to the points mentioned above, I even believe that more heterogeneity is absolutely necessary in modern working environments. As an employer, you want maximum efficiency and performance from your employees, so you shouldn't re-educate them by hook or by crook by forcing one platform or one type of device on them. Everyone should be able to work with the technical tools that allow them to maximise their effectiveness.
What's the situation in your company? Do you also use Apple devices and have other arguments that I haven't included? Then write a comment and share it with us all. I look forward to the discussions. Would you like to talk to me or my team about this topic and get some advice? Then you can reach us as follows:
