Apple's New Business Subscription

Apple's Sights Set on Small Businesses

Apple had been busy working to woo small businesses with a new subscription model that outsources your IT. In a brilliant move, Apple has recognized that their system and user base are often lower maintenance giving them a remarkable opportunity to be the IT support for small businesses. The new Apple Business Essentials offers Apple Care with device management, all for a monthly cost per user.

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Proof of Mac's Value

Apple has long been a simple yet powerful solution for enterprises:

• A 2021 study conducted by Forrester found that Macs cost an average of $843 less than their counterpart over a 3-year cycle.
• At a JAMF conference in 2016, IBM found that Macs were up to $543 less in a 4-year cycle. Plus, 5% of Mac users called internal IBM IT support compared to 40% of PC users.
  

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Is Apple Meant for Artists?

I grew up in a household that saw Apple as a valuable resource. However, Macs were mead for artists, not the business world. In fact, Macs weren't compatible with the corporate world.

It was a surprise when I found out my parents would buy me a Mac as a high school graduation gift. I remember my parents specifically telling me it was because I was interested in video. Otherwise, it didn't make financial sense.

If you go to a local store and compare different computers, Macs are clearly more expensive than the average PC. However, I got the opportunity to see my own small case study while in college. During my 4-year college career, my Mac was taken into an Apple store 1 time for support. I had accidentally dropped something on my Mac that popped off the "F" key. Otherwise, it worked like a charm.

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My Sister's PC Woes

My two older sisters had each been given a good PC for their college career, and my parents had bought the extended warranty to make sure my sisters were covered while in college. Mind you, these were not cheap PCs or netbooks; these were in the $600-$800 range of laptops (circa 2007ish). During their 4-year college careers, their laptops were in the shop for about half of the time – and that is not an exaggeration.

Because of the warranty, it didn't cost anything extra to have their laptop continually receiving support. However, think of the lost productivity of not having a laptop available during college. Further, they had to drive the computer to the shop each time something went wrong.

What About My PC Specific Software?

For those in business who say they need specific software that is only offered on PC – which is becoming a less common occurrence – there is still the option of running Windows on your Mac. For those unaware, software like Parallels lets you run an instance of Windows right on the Mac. And because they have been doing this for a while (2006), they have a slick interface that lets you:

• Drag and drop between the Mac side and PC side
• Use native features like Touch Bar on the Mac
• Automatic space-saving functionality
• A ton of other features that make it ideal for businesses.

In other words, you can have the consistency and quality of a Mac while still meeting specific program needs. Though the original cost is expensive, long-term, it is not as bad as you might think.

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Cost Over Time

Going back to my college laptop, I think the laptop costs something like $1,200. 3 years in, I personally switched out the RAM and hard drive to an SSD, which set me back around $200. I used that machine from 2009 to 2015 and then finally sold it for $400. In other words, I had a powerhouse machine I used for intense work (4K video editing) alongside my college work, all for $1,000 over 6 years. That comes out to less than $175 a year to have a machine that just worked.

Not for Everybody

I do want to note that Macs are not for everybody. If you are just checking your emails, browsing the internet, and watching Netflix, there is no reason to invest in a quality machine. You need something that generally works most of the time.

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Apple Steps In

The Apple Business Essentials doesn't seem meant to deploy 5,000 Macs at a large business. However, there are options like JAMF and Kanji to help with that process.

But for small non-profits, startups, and side businesses with less than 100 devices, this is an essentially effortless way to minimize the need for an internal support team.

Seeing Apple step more fully into the workplace is welcomed by those who have been Mac fans for years. Seeing options for businesses like the Mac Upgrade Program and this Apple Business Essentials causes me to wonder how else Apple will integrate into the workplace in the future – and that is exciting to ponder.

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