In its May 12th cover story, “The Mac in the Grey Flannel Suit,” BusinessWeek confirmed that Apple has finally made some promising inroads into the corporate market in the last year. As a long-time Macophile and anti-PC-er I’m thrilled to see more company Macs. According to research data from the Yankee Group, 87% of surveyed companies now have some Apple computers in their offices, compared to 48% two years ago—due in large part to the iPhone’s success in gaining new Apple customers. Meanwhile, Microsoft‘s problems with Vista, the latest version of its Windows operating system, have further weakened the MS hegemony and encouraged corporate users to upgrade to Mac.
But as the article points out, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who wouldn’t even comment on the BusinessWeek story, may not be that anxious to get the grey flannel business. Why? Because a corporate sales strategy would require both an expensive sales & support staff and a willingness to modify Mac product designs to suit the conflicting demands of corporate buyers. Apple is doing just fine without these hassles, making high margins catering to students and artists who will pay extra for the Apple cool. Budget-conscious CIOs may not be as accommodating.
If you were Steve Jobs, what would YOU do?