Apple desktops to equal 25% of all PC growth in 2010

AppleInsider is reporting that 2010 looks like a rebound year for desktop machines.  Not as sexy a market right now as note/netbooks but the interesting thing is that Apple is poised to sell one in four of those desktops.  Why?  Basically its because Apple is providing a better machine for less money now.  Those are my words, the article says: “In his report Wednesday, Cihra offered comments of praise to this end, backslapping the Mac maker for remaining in control of its own product and pricing schedules. This has allowed the company to maintain much higher overall ASPs (average selling prices) than its peers while still delivering more affordable prices to its customers.

Basically what hes saying is that although Apple still sells its computers for more than most competitors, the prices of PCs have dropped continually.  I think theres a lot more to that of course, but the takeaway is that the trend is a growing Macintosh presence.  Cool.

The Most Expensive Support Plan

More than ever, we rely on our computers and supporting equipment to run our businesses.  I know that’s pretty obvious and a total understatement to be sure, but the negative impact of our technology, when it fails, cannot be overstated.  At Think Fixed, we receive calls every day from users across a wide spectrum of businesses who have some sort of emergency:  Email not working, can’t print, internet outage, computer slow or crashed.  The list goes on and here’s the thing: they are all critical.

Most likely none of this happens to you, but you probably know some affected business or user.  We have come to realize that offering services that only react to problems as they arise (referred to as “break-fix) is akin to your dentist just pulling teeth and filling cavities without lecturing you about brushing, flossing and the general badness sugar does to your teeth (referred to as “malpractice”).  And  heres the thing:  Its more painful and more costly. In fact, it is probably the most expensive support plan you could buy.

What then should a business expect as appropriate “tech support”?  Consider again the dentist analogy:  Does anyone really want cavities?  Quite the opposite: We want at the very least a mouth of teeth that don’t hurt.  So we perform daily routines and regular visits to prevent that.  Expect that from your support team/person.  Expect good advice.  Expect to be challenged and expect to sleep better at night.  Otherwise, whats the point of all that money spent?

Tech support needs to be a more holistic term.  It must encompass people and culture as well as ones and zeroes.  It absolutely needs to look ahead while keeping an eye on the present.  And it means preventing, not reacting.  In short, it is a partnership with a business that goes well beyond understanding the technical.

Large companies long ago figured out that this “reactive” support was more costly than “proactive” support and further realized that proactive can cover a wide range of tasks.  Being on the fully managed side of things actually reaped them greater margins.

But what is a small company to do?  Is it possible that a small group can actually afford a management plan?  Surely the costs are prohibitive.  Possibly.  What Think Fixed and others are trying to bring is unlimited support at a flat monthly fee and are sometimes referred to as “Managed Service Providers (MSP)”.  It is not perfect for everyone.  But businesses who get the “all you can eat” plan, find that it’s less costly than hiring an in house staff member AND it pays for itself through the prevention of a single incident, whether it’s data loss (bad backup), a system failure, theft or noncompliance with software licensing or legal requirements.  Often business owners don’t even know the extent to which they are vulnerable.

We are just tired of repeatedly kicking our clients in the head (and wallet) under the guise of “saving” them.  Yes, the money is better (a LOT better), but it comes at the expense of strong, longstanding relationships.  If we do our job, our clients don’t have many emergencies and can use their “down time” to complete projects and upgrades instead of feel beaten by something that could be prevented.

Ask yourself:  Would you rather spend less money on reactive support or slightly more on inclusive and proactive services?  Interested in changing the way you use your technology?  Call me.  Let’s determine, together, whether or not this is something that addresses your needs.

Geof Bowie
geof(at)thinkfixed(dot)com
866.674.0325

Unlimited Mac Support at a Flat Monthly Rate.  Available Nationwide.

Running your business on a Mac, Intro:

Last year was a challenging time during which many good companies survived but suffered and 2010 presents an opportunity to amend business practices for greater success or to even start afresh. If among important goals are minimizing expenses while maximizing efficiency, productivity and quality of work, taking a hard look at a basic computer assets can pay big dividends. How well these systems are functioning  directly affect many businesses profitability.

Analyzing hardware and software needs is a great place to start. Consider that a big advance in the Windows operating system in the newly released Windows 7 offers a big jump from Windows XP, the most popular operating system on the planet.  But this upgrade represents a lot of new decisions about how you run your business.  What about switching to Macintosh?  Consider:

    • Will there be a learning curve in switching to either Windows 7 or Mac?

    • Will new software need to be purchased?

    • How critical are these computers to business profitability?

    • Would a computer or server outage cost money, aside from repairs?

    • How important is scalability?

    • Have needs been clearly established, independent of what kind of computer is being used?

Basic Usage

Microsoft Windows dominates the business market and by and large does a fantastic job of keeping the business world at work.  At 5-8% of the overall PC market, Macintosh has always been a minor player in the business arena.  Until recently.  The stability and security of the Macintosh OS has earned it acceptance in larger and larger businesses and can easily integrate into larger Windows networks.  The questions to ask is, not of IF a business can use Macs, but if it SHOULD.  While there should no longer be any reason a company can’t run one or the other (or both), for too often considerations aside from brand are ignored.

Security

Handle sensitive information, subject to compliance standards or just keep overhead low by proper management of your computers?  Security standards, common practice for Windows based companies for years is now no longer a barrier to those who choose Macs.   A Macintosh running OS X (pronounced “ten”) integrates well into a management framework (Mac or PC). And while there are many myths about Macintosh benefits, one thing is certain, viruses simply aren’t the problem they are on Windows.  Often that singular factor saves a great deal of time, money and frustration to end users.  How is this possible?  Windows suffers from its popularity and need to work on myriad hardware configurations.  Apple, by contrast, tightly controls the hardware and software of its products (there are no 3rd party Macintosh makers), making it easier to create a more stable and secure system.

Why pay more for good design?

Over the years, the initial cost of personal computers has decreased dramatically, and today the price a Mac is now approximately equal to that of a feature-similar Windows-based PC.  The real savings then comes over the life of a computer, the “total cost of ownership” heralds a break in longstanding trends.

Consider lifecycle policy (scheduled equipment replacement):  Macintosh resale figures can be upwards of 70% of original purchase price.   Resale value of a comparable ThinkPad laptop at the same currently yields about 50 % of original purchase price.  And a lifecycle policy can reduce impact on annual budgets through lower ongoing maintenance costs, in contrast to sporadic purchases and repairs when computers fail.

Your Industry

More and more non-creative industries are considering their choices between a move to Windows 7 (from XP) and Mac.  Evaluation of specific options is critical and often makes your decision easy. If used in an industry requiring many Windows-only applications, a Windows-based PC is absolutely the right choice.  Limited need of these types of applications can work well in a Mac environment and the same is true for Mac specific programs.  For example, companies who choose Mac will often keep a Windows-based PC on board solely to run QuickBooks or other programs that run best on Windows.  A discussion with a knowledgeable consultant can help guide these decisions toward a healthy, secure and profitable decision.

Management and Maintenance

Finally, consider the risk associated with neglect or mismanagement of any computer system.  Can users negatively impact business through too much access (or not enough?)  Do any governmental or internal compliance standards need to be met?  In the event of a theft or fire, is data secure and cataloged?  These and many other questions are the specialities of many good technology consultants and regardless of platform choice, that person or group is an indispensable resource for businesses looking to stay ahead of the competition.

Technology in the business environment is so important that, ironically, it is easily overlooked.  High expectations are placed on these systems and options are better than ever.

Geof Bowie
geof(at)thinkfixed(dot)com