Nick Wingfield wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal talking about Apple's return to enterprise computing. And reasons for this was the addition of Intel chips in the Mac and the introduction of Parallels software which gave the ability to run Windows operating systems at the same time as running Apple's OS X.
When Apple Inc. last year switched over its line of Macintosh personal computers to chips made by Intel Corp., the move came with a nice side benefit: Users could run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system on their Apple machines because Windows and Macs shared the underlying silicon components from Intel.
Now the support for Windows on Apple hardware looks to be playing a key role in persuading some users to switch to Macs from Windows PCs, including small businesses, education and other professional markets that have tilted toward Windows for years.
Helping Macs gain a bit of ground within the workplace are a growing array of programs that let the machines run Windows or Windows applications on Macs with little loss of performance. Last April, Apple began offering a free test version of a program called Boot Camp that lets users run Windows on their Macs if they own a copy of the Microsoft software, though users can't operate both Microsoft and Apple operating systems at once. Apple plans to integrate Boot Camp into a new version of the Macintosh operating system, dubbed Leopard, due out this spring.
And software from other companies, such as one called Parallels Desktop for Mac, from SWsoft Inc., of Herndon, Va., enables a more convenient scenario: running Mac and Windows on an Apple computer at the same time.
For years, PCs running Windows were the predominant machine in the computer labs and administrative offices of Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., with Macs traditionally accounting for about 15% of the computers throughout the campus. Last year, though, the school began a switch to Apple computers from Windows PCs. The university has installed about 550 Macs throughout the school, with plans to have about 1,450 Apple computers on campus over the next several years.
The ability to run Windows on the Apple machines was a critical feature that made the move possible, says Scott Byers, the school's vice president for finance and general counsel.
"I think we would have stuck with Windows" if the Apple computers couldn't run the Microsoft operating system, says Mr. Byers. "It really made a huge difference."
Mr. Byers says the switch will allow the university to reduce the number of computers on its campus network by about 250, since it will no longer need to have an inefficient mix of separate Macs and Windows PCs. As a result, the university expects to save about $150,000, even though Macs are a bit more expensive than comparable Windows PCs and the school will still need to pay for copies of Windows to run on each of the machines.
Smaller-scale Mac fans also see the benefit. Ian Vysick, a senior audio engineer for a television-production company in New York, has bought three Mac laptops within the last year for his and his family's personal use because of Apple's consumer-friendly software and fewer hassles from viruses. Then Mr. Vysick found out he could run Windows simultaneously with the Mac operating system on his Apple computer using the $80 Parallels Desktop for Mac software. He now takes his personal Mac laptop to work, where he runs a Windows-only program for configuring an intercom system used during TV productions. Unlike with Boot Camp, he doesn't have to shut down and restart his computer when he wants to run Windows.
No one believes Microsoft's dominance of the professional market, which includes businesses, education and other nonconsumer fields, is in any imminent jeopardy. Analysts say such organizations, especially big companies, have far too much invested in Windows for Apple to ever win a big share of the market. Apple, tacitly conceding as much, puts more focus on the consumer market, with products like the iPod and forthcoming iPhone.
A spokeswoman for Apple, of Cupertino, Calif., declined to make an executive available for comment.