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March 10, 2022

Apple and the Enterprise: The Time is Now

IT support for Apple means less risk, more productivity, and improved recruiting and retention. So, what's stopping you?

If you're like most organizations, your IT operations are adept at managing users that rely on Windows-based hardware and software. What they probably aren't managing, though, are the often-small pockets of Apple users – the Mac enclave – who may feel relegated to the role of second-class citizens. Extending your capabilities to this minority isn't just a matter of courtesy anymore, the inclusive multi-platform world is the new reality. Ignore it at your peril.

You may already know that bringing those Apple users under the enterprise IT umbrella can add a competitive advantage - and complications. It can enhance your workplace's diversity and inclusion culture and practices. It can reduce risk, generate productivity, and even make your company more attractive to top talent. Multiple studies from Forrester and Gartner confirm this. Intuitively, you know it makes sense. Yet, there are obstacles to getting there.

For one, corporate IT departments are often focused purely on Microsoft and in most cases take a dim view of integrating Apple users - and not being open to modern solutions is almost always an innovation block. It's been this way since the 90s, when Apple's old OS failed to adapt to business needs, but became prevalent among education, marketing, and communications users. By the time Apple responded to market conditions and evolved, introducing OS X in 2001, Windows was already firmly entrenched. So, Enterprise IT has tended to ignore, restrict, or even marginalize Mac users.

It's not particularly efficient to dedicate an IT associate to Mac support when Apple devices are relatively scarce in your organization. Eventually, those staff are pulled into non-Mac issues and become less of a dedicated resource, so you're back at square one. Or you may have tried to recruit someone for this role and found few takers, learning that most Mac IT experts are looking for a bigger challenge because they can contribute so much more.

You're probably already buying Apple hardware yourself from a third-party, and you may rely on them to supply support services. They may say they can do “Everything Apple,” yet have no track record and want to lock you into a long-term contract. Months or even years later, the integration still hasn't been completed. Again, you're back at square one.

What if?

Why should your organization try to jump over these obstacles? What's in it for you? There are three main benefits that adopters have reported after integrating Apple:

  • Ability to attract top talent - Students at today's grad and undergrad schools are likely to have used Apple products at school from the age of five or six onward. When these students become candidates for open positions, they often favor Macs and tech flexibility because that was their experience growing up. These candidates are notorious for accepting lower offers from companies they perceive to be tech vanguards.
  • Better productivity, lower risk - Fully integrating Apple into your environment will boost associate productivity and creativity, which in turn improves their cost efficiency. Be assured other departments will notice.
  • Greater diversity - Supporting different learning styles and communication preferences shouldn't be viewed as a limitation, but as a benefit. Providing the choice of Windows or Apple platforms (not just favoring one over the other) enables everyone to feel supported, welcomed, and recognized while enabling and encouraging them to perform at their best.

Finally, there's a competitive advantage to all of this. Your market may already be heading in this direction, and if it's not, it likely will be soon. More choice and greater diversity are inevitable in the workplace. You can choose to be at the front of the pack or play catch up later. And playing catch up – like many things in business, can be a very expensive proposition.

This is not a new idea. In the history of technology, multiple solutions are the norm, not the exception. And the early adopters? They're not looking back. Why should they?

Translating Apple for the Enterprise

If you're ready to integrate Apple into your corporate environment, but you're not sure about the next step, you need a technology translator. We can help.

As the largest Apple-dedicated IT consultancy in the Mid-West for corporate, Cranston IT speaks Apple to Windows folk, and Windows to Apple folks. We can help you translate the technology divide seamlessly.

We bring extensive knowledge and history to integrating Apple into your Enterprise because we have been there before.

It is not about upending and creating chaos. It's about using proven tactics and strategy to develop common sense workflows, educate your team and mentor your team seamlessly and gracefully so that no one needs to re-invent the wheel.

Because Apple integration shouldn't be about having to change everything.

Cranston IT is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It's a bespoke, white glove approach that fits your environment based on your organization's actual need. You can now offer flexibility to your associates and attract top talent. You'll also get visibility into what's really going on, and with a security practice that reduces risk - not based on vague promises, but real-world analysis, communication, and understanding.

Corporate cultures are the norm for us, and we are geared to serve them from the help desk to the C-suite. You'll be able to integrate without creating parallel structures, then we'll train and mentor your IT Operations to maintain the integration and minimize staffing and external services drift. Our job is to support what you do in the way your associates need to do it, on whatever platform gives them the best outcome. We have the level of Apple and Microsoft expertise to successfully integrate Apple devices as first-class citizens into your IT stack.

Mac users will have all of the same benefits, functionality, and security as your Windows users.

Security spoken here

If your company needs help to integrate Active Directory and Azure, user and rights management, SAML/SSO, Intune, PKI and 802.1X, we're on it. We know CIS and NIST guidance, risk assessment, remediation, audit, and compliance. We can also guide you on standards such as HIPAA, SOX, SOC1/2 and how they relate to Apple endpoint management. If you need an Apple security mentor and advocate, Cranson IT is your partner.

Solutions that fit, training that empowers

Rather than foist our methods on your team, we work within your existing environment and create custom solutions that fit what works best for you. If you've been unsatisfied in the past with ill-fitting solutions that only check-box, creating nothing but external dependencies, rest assured, this isn't the Cranston IT method.

We focus on solutions that work not hardware sales.

Instead of playing the wizard behind the curtain, our approach is evidence-based and transparent. We'll train and mentor your staff, who can feel comfortable in knowing we have their backs. Decision-makers and other senior leaders will be provided with ample information and discussion that is so very important to the success of any IT project. This collaborative process guides projects to success without the need for long-term contracts and minimizes the internal battles that often befuddle even the most capable of organizations.

Making Apple sing in the enterprise

We strongly believe that Apple as a choice drives employee attraction, retention, and productivity without ever believing that Apple is the right choice for everyone. We are active members of our Apple community, attending conferences, sitting on panels, providing thought leadership and new ideas. We bring decades of experience in business environments to the fore and unlike the competition, we share our secrets.

Whether you're a small company with a large Apple user base, or a larger company where Apple devices are only a small part, true Apple integration will bring greater productivity and freedom, along with greater security and efficiencies. We'll help you make it happen using your existing tools and technologies without disruption or nasty surprises.

Is it time to embrace your inner Apple? Click here to explore your options with us, no strings attached.