Apple Is Making “Serious Inroads In The Enterprise”

John Martellaro for MacObserver write that the barriers are finally collapsing, as Mac is moving more deeply into the corporate sector. He notes an article written by Vin D’Amico at IndUS Business Journal. Martellaro writes, “In an exceptionally well balanced and thought out assessment of the situation, Mr. D’Amico wrote a prescription for a corporation that wants to test the waters with Apple’s enterprise offerings.”

He lists the key points as:
-Recognizing the standards compliance of Macs built on UNIX;
-Being award of Apple’s Xserve and Xsan storage area network;
-Mac’s ability to integrate into an Active Directory network
-Assessing the real TCO, which is not apparent from up front pricing since Apple typically focuses on high performance and valued added configurations;
-The ability of Macs to run Windows and Windows software natively or in virtualization.

“Some barriers remain, however,” D’Amico states. “Support for legacy applications, reliance on a single source, and the effort to introduce a second platform pose ongoing challenges.” Martellaro points out that Apple offers in-person visits from an Apple account executive and his support engineer, who will work to provide a much better understanding of Apple solutions.

D’Amico writes, “As Apple grows its consumer business, there will be increasing pressure on corporations to adopt the Mac. Some of this pressure will come from recent college graduates, many of whom are Mac users. They will want to continue using Macs when entering the workforce.” Those college students may well be able to turn the tide, since their years of experience working on Macs would allow them the ability to demonstrate its strengths within the corporate sector. Then, of course, there is the issue of security. D’Amico gives Apple the gold star in that area. “Macs are generally more stable and virus-resistant than Windows. They are easier to use and built on open standards. Maybe it is time to test the barriers to Mac adoption in your company,” Mr. D’Amico advised.

Cheeky Psystar Apple xServe clone

Psystar launch the OpenServ 1100 and the two-unit OpenServ 2400, both of which run 10-client or unlimited versions of Mac OX Server 10.5. The Psystar servers offer 2.5Ghz Xeon processors as well as storage options that are not available on an Apple Xserve

The company is using third-party hacks to emulate Mac firmware and violating Apples Mac OS X terms of service. Apple is yet to challenge or comment on Psystar, who themselves argue Apple would be breaking antitrust laws by attempting to ban third-party hardware.

Xserve = the Antithesis to PC Servers

Tom Yager at InfoWorld calls Apple’s Xserve, “the glorious antithesis to PC servers.”

Yager writes, “With Xserve, Apple designed and engineered everything in-house, from the logic and firmware to the chassis and OS and admin tools. Support issues are not finger-pointed out to Microsoft, Novell, Red Hat, or GNU.” The article goes on to say that when “big iron” is purchased from IBM, HP or Sun, a company will pay (U.S.) $20,000. “However,” Yager says, “if you want to spend $5,000 and still get eight 64-bit cores, you go to Apple. And with virtualization, the server can still deliver up Windows and Linux servers operating in parallel with Mac OS X and its terrific admin tools.”

Yager points to Apple’s “hallmark features” of continuity and consistency, and to the fact that Apple’s engineering keeps improving as the prices keep doing down, “and instead of soaking the customer, Apple shares that windfall with them.”

“The pleasant surprise is the price of a fully loaded Xserve,” Mr. Yager concluded. “Harpertown Xserve with eight 3GHz cores, 3TB of internal hardware RAID storage, and 32GB of RAM cruises in at under $10,000. There are 1U x86 rack servers with smaller price tags, to be sure, but none that can be taken so far in one chassis as Xserve for the money, and no PC server carries pervasive big iron design to the mainstream as Xserve does.”

Apple Xserve ‘An Accessible, Low-Fuss Route to Hefty Server Power

Aaron Weiss of Datamation has reviewed the Apple Xserve, stating, “Apple is known first and foremost for its consumer-oriented technology. The common DNA between products like the iPod or MacBook Air is a consistent, graceful and elegant interface that prioritizes the end-user experience. Dedication to a user friendly formula and modernist design has enabled Apple to claim a successful niche in a computer marketplace crowded with commodity PCs.”

Weiss points out, however, that Apple’s products extend even further than that. “…Apple’s strong focus on lifestyle consumers sometimes obscures the fact that the company also makes and markets servers aimed at business customers. The server room might not seem like a natural habitat for a vendor that puts as much emphasis on appearance as function, but server duty is not as much of a stretch as it might seem for Apple.”

Apple’s popular and acclaimed OS X platform is built on a “complete Unix backend.” Weiss states that this is “certainly no stranger to server racks. In fact, Apple has packaged a server-oriented version of its platform, called OS X Server, which it includes with its rackmount series of servers, the Xserve.”

Weiss continues,__”Xserve offers a one-box solution, which is Apple’s bread-and-butter. Organizations with an interest in media serving will find the Xserve an especially facile environment to get up and running with a minimum of hassle compared to PC servers. Smaller businesses without an existing investment in PC servers or expert IT admins will find the Xserve an accessible, low-fuss route to hefty server power. And, of course, for anyone already comfortable with and loyal to the Apple experience, the Xserve provides a familiar environment without sacrificing features or power to its PC-based peers.”