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IT Management Slideshow:
9 Ways for Apple to Win Over CIOs

By Don Reisinger on 2011-07-21


When it comes to Apple, CIOs have a difficult time coming to a consensus. On one hand, the company delivers outstanding products that consumers and even the most battled-scarred tech leader can agree are appealing. In fact, soaring iPhone and iPad sales gave Apple its best fiscal quarter ever . However, when it comes to enterprise functionality, Apple’s products fall short in many ways. While the company’s enterprise appeal is much improved from where it stood a few years ago, Apple still has a long way to go before it wins over most CIOs looking to make decisions about technology for the workplace. Realizing that, we thought it might be a good time to take a look at what Apple can do to be more CIO-friendly. Rather than continue to focus exclusively on consumers by offering products such as iPhone and iPad, with which many CIOs find fault, Apple should think seriously about what it wants to accomplish in the enterprise. The time has come for Apple to become far more CIO-friendly than it has been in the past. Here's how Apple can achieve that goal while staying true to what its business is all about.

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Give us a real corporate smartphone
Some would argue that iPhone 4 is a corporate-ready smartphone. In some ways, that’s true. But, pitted against a BlackBerry, iPhone 4 just doesn’t hold up. BlackBerry Enterprise Server and robust IT control are among the kinds of corporate features that iPhone needs.

Improve enterprise support for desktops
The company has raised the bar for all when it comes to supporting consumers. On the corporate side, it's a different story. Apple doesn’t offer the level of service that CIOs require. Microsoft and its vendor partners, on the other hand, deliver the kind of support CIOs want.

Get an attitude adjustment
If Apple is anything, it’s confident that it has the best products for any customer. It hasn’t modified its strategy one bit to satisfy anyone else. But corporate customers aren’t as pleased with Apple products as they could be. And in order for Apple to become more CIO-friendly, it has to be willing to listen to IT executives.

Try acknowledging corporate needs
Microsoft has always engaged in a “push” strategy when it comes to the corporate world. Rather than try and draw corporate customers to its products with dedicated offerings, in most cases, Apple makes no concessions for the enterprise. For CIOs, that’s a problem.

Let's have less secrecy
You spend a considerable amount of time planning out your spending, not only for the next 12 months period, but for the long term as well. Apple’s penchant for secrecy doesn’t make planning for the future easier. If Apple wants to be more CIO-friendly, it needs to be less secretive about upcoming products and upgrades, at least for corporate customers.

Launch an enterprise-class cloud solution
The recently announced iCloud is a solution that lives on the Web and will allow users to sync content across their many devices. It seems fine for consumers, but falls flat for enterprise users. If Apple really wants to be CIO-friendly (and why wouldn’t it?), delivering an enterprise-class cloud solution would help.

Think about those prices
Apple delivers some of the most expensive products in the marketplace. In the consumer market, this strategy helps Apple seem like a premium provider of a premium product. On the corporate side, it makes the company look overpriced and unappealing.

Offer bundled virtualization
Corporate customers who want to run Windows on a Mac have two main options: Apple’s Boot Camp solution and virtualization. The latter is undoubtedly preferred. The problem is, running a virtual version of Windows on a Mac adds to the expense of Apple’s already pricey computers. Here's a long-shot: What if Microsoft offered its own virtualization solution built right into Mac OS

Give us productivity software we can really use
iWork is one of the biggest weaknesses in Apple’s portfolio. It's adequate for consumers, but falls short for enterprise users that need advanced functionality. Apple needs a productivity suite that can compete on the same level as Microsoft Office. Even better, why not add cloud-based functionality to that new-and-improved solution?

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