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.