The Business Case for the Macintosh

Apple is still a $6 billion company with world-class products. But does its Macintosh computer make sense today as a business tool? Should the average small to medium-sized business see past Apple's troubles in order to buy what are still the most usable computers on the market?

Apple's Odyssey: From Garage to Billions to Cause for Concern

In 1981, Apple Computer owned the personal computer market in the U.S. When IBM introduced its PC in September, Apple placed huge ads in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, smugly welcoming IBM to the market. Over the next two-and-a-half years, the IBM PC and its compatible "clones" from companies like Compaq knocked Apple off its perch. In fact, IBM's stamp of approval made personal computers acceptable within businesses of every size. Apple's dominant position quickly evaporated, but its hubris lingered on.

In 1984, Apple counterattacked with the Macintosh, a personal computer that finally offered genuine ease of use with its warm and friendly user interface. Apple launched the Mac with the unforgettable "1984" Superbowl ad that portrayed IBM users as a pack of dreary souls held captive by Big Brother (Big Blue by any other name). The ad was unforgettable because of its vivid imagery, its bold attack, and its tone of moral superiority. It was a typically daring message from a renegade company. Fortunately for Apple, the Macintosh was an "insanely great" product then--and now.

For many years, Apple sold more computers than any other single company. Even as its market share declined, its sales grew. In some respects, its mere survival for all these years has been a miracle. After all, Apple was just one company building to its own standard, while hundreds of PC vendors cranked out computers that matched the standard originally established by IBM back in 1981. Astonishingly, only in the last few years has Apple suffered an absolute drop in

revenues.

Perhaps the penultimate big news story for Apple came in early 1997. With much hoopla, Apple acquired Steve Job's company, Next, for its outstanding operating system/software development tools. Many industry pundits saw this as a brilliant Hail Mary play designed to redeem a significant corporate computing presence for Apple. One industry expert, David Pollak, founder of Athena Software, which built great Next-based software, has lost his initial enthusiasm for the acquisition. He now states, "Apple bought Next Software six months ago as the only possible hope of catching up to Microsoft and the UNIX players' technology. Apple has utterly failed to follow through on the acquisition by moving large customers and ISV's to OpenStep/Rhapsody." Pollak is skeptical about Apple's future. And so, sadly, are many others.

On the other hand, the Macintosh is a Great Business Buy

In spite of marketing, manufacturing and strategic mishaps stretching over more than a decade, the Apple Macintosh of 1997 remains a splendid computer. In fact, if market conditions are ignored, the Mac is arguably a much better business choice than the best offerings from world-class PC vendors, such as Compaq, Dell, Gateway and Hewlett-Packard.

Al Kamentz, president of MicroAge Computer Centers of Florida, sells and supports both the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows-equipped PCs. He notes somewhat ironically that his Fort Myers company's Mac expertise has facilitated his staff's ability to help customers' transition from the old non-graphical PC-DOS environment to Windows 95.

He makes a persuasive case for the Macintosh, while acknowledging market realities. As Al puts it, "With the Macintosh you spend time using your computer rather than trying to make it work." He estimates that the learning curve for the Mac is one-third or less than with Windows 95. He adds, "The biggest argument for using Windows is because everyone else does."

Indeed, Apple's market share is now less than 5 percent of the total market, although Apple clones add an extra 3 to 4 percent to that number. Kamentz believes that the "clone market" may soon grow dramatically, creating a strong Mac presence no matter what the fate of Apple Computer may be. He states unequivocally, "The Macintosh will survive."

That said, market realities have somewhat influenced the recommendations Al Kamentz gives his MicroAge clients. He says, "We don't try as much as we used to steer business buyers to the Mac, unless they are creative professionals such as writers, art directors, illustrators and designers."

In fact, a new research study from Gistics documents the bottom line benefits. As quoted in MacWeek, it concludes, "Deployment of Windows technology in professional production environments does not maximize profits. Under many circumstances, prudent managers must come to view Windows deployment as a breach of fiduciary responsibility."

Harsh market realities aside, the Apple Macintosh offers more value than most business users probably realize--along with a high degree of usability. Here are some facts worth noting: The Mac offers as much or more power and performance as a high-end PC--and often for less money. For example, the Power Macintosh 6500/250, bundled with a 12x CD-ROM, a Zip drive, a 33.6k modem, a speakerphone, voice mail and a truckload of great business software costs only $2299. Only the most nameless of PC competitors would offer comparable value.

The Macintosh is still easier to use than a Windows 95-equipped PC. Microsoft worked long and hard to improve upon the Macintosh graphical user interface. In their private moments, even hardened Microsoftians would probably say as much. The new Mac operating system 8 is optimized for the high-performance Power PC microprocessor. It will offer a 20 to 30 percent speed improvement because it interfaces directly with the microprocessor.

The new Mac OS 8 also offers improved appearance and functionality, including true multitasking. In a world of networked computers, it is much easier to network Macs than their PC cousins. Adding peripherals such as CD-ROM or fixed disk drives is much easier on a Mac than on a PC. Business productivity applications such as ClarisWorks offer a level of seamless and intuitive integration not seen even in Microsoft's Office 97.The best and richest set of software for creative professionals exists on the Mac--often exclusively.

Conclusion

Apple Computer's current state and immediate prospects may give the business community pause. But, I'm inclined to agree with Al Kamentz that the Macintosh will survive. Our publication is designed with a Mac-bas