After years of causing grief for IT pros in enterprises around the globe, Apple acceptance has begun. Long before the company’s partnership with IBM was announced last week, a large majority had come to terms with the new enterprise IT paradigm. Some got there kicking and screaming, others may have had no choice and for the rest…they led the pack. With iOS devices and Macs now hitting networks at a feverish pace, there is a concerted organizational effort to get them managed.

What stage of acceptance are you in right now?

1.       Denial. It’s more than just a river in Egypt. “If I ignore those new, shiny machines, maybe they’ll go away.”

A recent survey from Dimension Research and JAMF found Apple’s share of the enterprise market has doubled in just three years, with nine out of 10 companies now officially supporting Apple products (91 percent support iPhones, 89 percent iPads and 60 percent Mac computers). Thankfully, the vast majority of organizations have moved beyond this denial stage. It’s 2014. If you’re still in denial, you may want to consider a new line of work.

2.       Procrastination. There’s always a more important project…right? “Sure, I’ll figure out a solution for Macs once I finish the rest of the projects on my list for this year.”

Attempting to postpone the inevitable isn’t going to be productive for anyone. In fact, 98 percent of survey respondents expect the number of Apple devices to grow at their business by at least 25 percent over the next three years, and many think that number will be much higher. Hesitating now may only make things worse and could put you at risk for a security breach. So get crackin’!

3.       Bargaining. Hoping that if you give an inch, employees and staff won’t take a mile. “OK, so if I approve this iMac, you’ll be sure to only download company-approved apps, right?”

Corporate policies are not up for debate. Well-designed and comprehensive policies can be rolled out seamlessly so that end users – and their Macs – can be managed and company data protected. Nine out of ten enterprises understand that Apple device setup and enablement requires IT involvement. 40 percent plan to meet this influx by allocating larger IT budgets, while 20 percent say they will hire more staff to handle Apple product implementation. Where does that leave the rest? 

4.       Pre-emptive. Realizing that meeting halfway isn’t working. “Hear me out for a minute…what if we embraced Apple products in the business? Let’s do some research.”

Six out of ten enterprises support more than 100 Apple devices, while nearly two in ten support a thousand or more. And finding the right solution may be the biggest point of contention among respondents – 80 percent of those surveyed were not satisfied with the Apple device management solution or program currently in use by their organization.

5.       Acceptance – There are some great tools out there; this could be less painful than you thought. “Wow! We can actually get this done with minimal disruption within a reasonable budget!”

The challenge of incorporating Macs into a Windows-centric environment is a hefty task. Recognize that there are Mac management strategies that work. As the leader in making Windows and Mac work together seamlessly, Parallels answers the call for keeping Macs under control with software solutions for businesses of all sizes...something that our current customers can attest to from first-hand experience:

Countless industry studies have shown the rate of adoption for Apple products in the enterprise continuing to grow significantly, and that should only accelerate under Apple’s partnership with IBM. Parallels has solutions to help IT pros manage this. 

Learn more about Parallels Solutions for business, including Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition and Parallels Mac Management for Microsoft SCCM. Or, contact our commercial sales team at usentsales@parallels.com with any questions you may have regarding Apple in the Enterprise.