Consumer first
Baker says one of the persistent issues with all Apple products is that they tend to be consumer-centric. For example, even the latest iPad Air 2 does not provide features that let multiple users login to the device, separating what could be critical business information for an upper manager from the access a productivity worker has on the same device.
Ironically, it's this lack of business functionality that might be the key reason so many users are drawn to the devices – they are easy to use and don't provide security roadblocks.
"Most users really like the mobile products, both the iPhones and the iPads, and there is a strong following for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks among users in the enterprise that want to bring their own personal computer, or have the enterprise be more flexible about the PCs that are provided to employees," says Baker, explaining that business users tend to want more flexibility in how they work, where they work, and who has control over their work.
Future outlook?
What we know about Apple is that the company will continue to innovate, attract customers, and show up in conference rooms across the world. Still, there is one key trend that might make things a bit easier for those who have decided to fend off the Apple advocates.
According to recent figures released by Gartner, tablets loaded with Microsoft Windows are starting to nudge into the Apple space after so many years of suffering in obscurity. In Q1 of 2014, Apple enjoyed a 29.7% market share for tablets worldwide. In Q2, that number fell to 27.8% and Microsoft tablets (which includes all form-factors) held fairly steady, still not topping 1%.
Yet, in Q3 of 2014, Apple market share fell to 25% and Microsoft share rose to 1.9%, likely due to the Surface Pro 3 shipments and rising adoption rates in business. The Apple question still looms large in the enterprise – it just isn't looming quite as much as before. By this time next year, who knows if the iPhone will hold out against Samsung and HTC products, or if the MacBook will continue to attract corporate users as much as it currently does.
