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Leveraging Linux
Some Mac fans want Apple to wage a war in the corporate world by dropping prices or making cheap boxes. Such suggested moves could easily dilute the Apple brand and doesn’t address the larger issue of the lack of corporate software for the Mac.
But the recent move by HP to offer Linux on the desktop is a very large signal that Linux is coming to a desktop near you. Certainly, momentum won’t be immediate and it may take a couple of years as corporate customers become fed up with Microsoft licensing costs and the long wait for Longhorn. But it will come nonetheless.
Linux on the corporate desktop forces developers of corporate software to develop Linux friendly versions of their software. Currently, many enterprise applications that offer a web-based client only work with Internet Explorer. With major customers considering or switching to Linux based PC’s, the IE-only approach won’t work for software developers who want to sell to the corporate market.
The same reasoning applies to applications that need to run client or desktop software.
The benefit to Apple is that the market will demand a whole new generation of programmers who know Linux. At least in the US, you are hard pressed to go to any Linux convention without seeing a significant showing of Apple laptops. It is also rumored that Apple will be making significant overtures in the next release of OS X, and if this is true, the conneciton will be even stronger.
Even if Linux overtures are not on the plate for OS X, the Mac influence in that group will certainly lead to Mac versions of software. or standards compliant web applications. This is especially true if a developer takes that into consideration while writing software.
Apple will never compete with low end PC’s, especially the kind that businesses typically purchase. But, if Linux grows to the point that it becomes easier for a Mac to be a good corporate citizen, then Apple can increase sales to the corporate environment incrementally, particularly in areas where the Mac platforms advantages shine. This will further assure long term success for Apple without diluting or harming its brand. Plus, the more people that see a Mac in the workplace, the more likely they are to consider it for work or for home.
For me, I don’t need to see Apple cornering x% of the market. As long as Apple is profitable and I have the freedom to choose my platform of choice at work without undue compromise or hassles, I will be happy. And so will millions of other Mac lovers that just want to be more productive at work.
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