Business and technology are two words that have gone together for decades. Business and Apple technology – well, not so much. Let’s face it, Apple made a name of itself by calling out “the man” and not bending to his authority. That rebellious attitude and freedom to be yourself has always typified Mac users and it’s a razor sharp contrast to the image of guys in suits with BlackBerrys and Windows-based laptops.
So, it may be surprising to realize that one in five people use Apple products in the workplace. How do you explain that? Easy. Apple is launching nothing less than a revolution of what technology means in the workplace,
The first warning shots of that revolution were fired in January 2007 when Steve Jobs announced the iPhone. Most people then didn’t realize the iPhone was going to change the business world – RIM actually sarcastically thanked Apple for creating what its executives considered a toy.
Who’s laughing now?
Apple’s move to empower users to choose the best technology in the workplace is radically changing business. Referred to as the consumerization of IT, this revolution is about individuals taking charge of their professional lives. Businesses are increasingly getting behind this new way of thinking – in part because of programs that allow or reward users for bringing their own iPhones, iPads, and Macs into the office. Even in companies where management and IT don’t endorse so-called bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives, many people are simply using the iPhone or iPad they already own without bothering to tell anyone.
Despite what some pundits might argue, Apple isn’t just getting lucky here – the company has worked long and hard to make iOS and OS X completely enterprise and business ready. Along with the App Store, iPhone OS 2 introduced security frameworks to the iPhone as well as support for Microsoft Exchange. iOS 4 took that further by including security and management capabilities well beyond anything available for Android and Windows Phone and second only to RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). And unlike RIM, companies deploying the iPhone and iPad don’t have to worry about all their data be routed through Waterloo, Ontario (or the potential for serious outages).
There are also some important technology trends that dovetail with Apple’s vision of user-empowered workplaces. Technical trends like cloud computing, social networking, and desktop virtualization are helping everyone – knowledge workers and IT professionals alike – reimagining the workplace for the 21st century.
All of which are lending more and more support to Apple-influenced cultural shifts that are all about empowering professionals to work anywhere at any time, to feel more comfortable in choosing the best tools for their jobs, to problem solve through their personal and professional networks, and to take charge of their careers in ways never before possible. These attitudes point the way to the future of the workplace since they are the attitudes and values that a new generation of digital natives, who have grown up in a world where the Internet and broadband have always existed, are bringing into the workplace.
Apple and the consumerization of IT are a combined force that is rapidly changing our relationship to technology and to our careers. Most importantly that force is radically reshaping the information technology field and leading to a new era in business/IT interactions – an era where the user comes first. That’s a big and very radical idea for management, IT, and everyone else to come to terms with.
Like most revolutionary changes in the world, these are empowering for professionals in every sector (including IT) but like other major shifts in work and culture, they can also be messy, confusing, and a little scary because there isn’t anything else quite like this transformation in our history.
That’s what I’m here for as Cult of Mac’s new business reporter – to make sense of the changes that Apple is inspiring in workplaces around the globe. As a former IT director, systems/network administrator (managing both Apple’s enterprise solutions like OS X Server and more mainstream offerings like Microsoft’s Active Directory), and consultant I’ve seen organizations take the culture and tech changing steps to make iPhones, iPads, and Macs in the workplace a reality. And I’ve seen the incredible potential those devices can unlock in any workplace environment from schools and colleges to hospitals to insurance companies to retail outlets.
My job is to help you navigate this amazing new and sometimes confusing business world. Whether you’re an IT professional who has never had to support Apple technologies before, a longtime Mac systems administrator, an executive learning how to use the iPad and iPhone as critical tools in and out of the office, or one of the millions of people using a Mac or iOS device to unlock new potential in your career.
This is a new landscape and it’s filled with new adventures. Let’s start exploring.
Ryan Faas is a technology journalist and consultant living in upstate New York who has written extensively about Apple, business and enterprise IT, and the mobile industry. In addition to writing for Cult of Mac, he is a contributor to Computerworld, InformIT, and Peachpit Press. In a previous existence he was a healthcare IT director as well as a systems and network administrator. Follow Ryan on Twitter and Google +.
19 responses to “The iOS Manifesto: How And Why Apple Is Revolutionizing The Workplace”
Like many I love iPhone & iPad but Windows 8 tablets and Office 15 for Win8 tablets coming out later this year, I don’t see iDevices revolutionizing the workplace to the extent they are now.
Having tested all available Win tablets and Win8 and even a beta of Office 15. The iPad still has zero competition. It will take Microsoft years to compete and by then the target will have moved.
I often wonder why so-called tech geniuses are always calling Apple products “toys”. It just smacks of arrogance and is indirectly calling average consumers less than intelligent because they would rather have a device that’s much simpler to use. I doubt there will be very few consumers needing to run Microsoft Office on a thin tablet when they can just as easily use some simpler application. I think Microsoft Office is a terrific desktop suite but I honestly can’t see it being fully taken advantage of on a tablet. I can’t even imagine how MS is going to take a suite with that much depth and tabletize it. I’d like to see it done, but I honestly can’t imagine it being simple.
Using Microsoft Office will only drive the cost up of owning a tablet. The hardware requirements for Windows 8 is already going to boost initial costs higher than necessary. Look, if the so-called tech-geniuses think that a Windows 8 tablet will replace the next version iPad, well, then good luck. The IT guys might think it’s great but I can’t see consumers giving it much love at all. That’s why all the past Windows tablets pretty much flopped in the consumer market after a countless number of tries. I think most of the early arrogant tech geniuses were dead wrong about the iPad in calling it a useless “toy” and I think the past couple of years have proved how wrong they were.
In the workplace, what can compete with Office when it comes to features and its ability to integrate with Sharepoint or Office 365 suite of online services? So far nothing I’ve seen. For a workplace environment, Office & Sharepoint are huge.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think the iPad is a toy but it’s still missing crucial apps / features to really make a massive dent in the workplace. It’d be great if Apple made a version of iWork for the iPad that was more feature rich and compatible with Office and could integrate with Sharepoint or Office 365.
Really? You foresee people composing (not viewing, not tweaking) Word, Excel & Powerpoint documents on a tablet screen? Even if you use an external keyboard, that is still not a lot of real estate.
And the amazing thing is that Apple’s assault on the enterprise market was mostly done by stealth. No big announcement, no separate and prominent enterprise division, just a quiet encirclement courtesy of Mac, iPhone and iPad toting execs and employees.
People are already composing Pages, Numbers & Keynote documents on their iPad. Having a version of Office made for tablets wouldn’t be that much of a stretch. The tablet version of Office doesn’t have to be the “full-featured” Office but as long a it integrates seamlessly with Sharepoint and / or Office 365 & is compatible with older Office document formats, that’s definitely a competitive advantage, as far as work environment goes.
iPads are great – I have one. I’m even building a Citrix Receiver app for use of iPads in my company. But that stinks, obviously native apps are better. And there lies the inherent problem.
iPads are great for checking email, creating calendar events and surfing the web. But they’re difficult to support.
First of all, most companies’ applications will not make to the iPad (yes, most, but not all). Migrating an application to another platform is costly, and can take a long time. So if your company relies heavily on applications it will have a hard time migrating it to iOS. Objective-C is a terrible language stuck in the 80s, most of the IT development world relies on .NET, Java or a web related platform (Ruby, Javascipt, etc).
Building apps in iOS now means your company has to also buy AND support Macs – yeah, not going to happen very easily if at all.
Add to the fact that you still can’t use it as a REAL productivity machine – try typing a 50 page document on an iPad – please. Try writing code on an ipad, please. And what about security? Most companies have their machines locked down, so how can a company (especially without a corporate dev license) stop anyone from downloading apps and playing angry birds.
everyone needs to calm down and get off the bandwagon already. Sure they run great, but when companies need to get REAL work done the smoke will clear.
Really? you tested a windows 8 tablet?
+100000
Also, Apple doesn’t give a flying *fruit fly* about the enterprise – and with $97B in the bank why should they?
But most companies who purchase IT equipment like to have great support and business relationships with vendors. Apple won’t snuggle up with anyone.
Yeah, no REAL work being done on iOS. Once everyone realizes that iPhones and iPads are toys – just like the RIM co-CEOs remarked five years ago – We’ll all go back to Windows and BlackBerry devices!
Are you kidding? Google will host services to replace Office, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync and voicemail for 1/6th the cost of what Microsoft is charging for office365 for the enterprise. I shudder to think how many IT jobs get lost here as well.
One thing for sure, is Microsoft’s way of doing things is coming to an end.
I’m gonna guess you ignorantly wrote this in a fit of nerd rage and didn’t bother to research:
Point 1: “First of all most companies’ applications will not make to the ipad (yes, most, but not all). ” –Ddevito
Counterpoint: Depends on the application in question and how deep your company is in the dark ages. Our company has been reliant on our in-house intranet for some time. Luckily, it looks great on a web browser on the ipad, and just requires minor tweaking. Can you come up with a piece of anecdotal evidence to counter mine? Sure, but this is a minor point and any IT person will tell you eventually your IT applications adapt, or get replaced.
Point 2: “building apps in iOS now means your company has to also buy AND support Macs – yeah, not going to happen very easily if at all.” –Ddevito
Counterpoint: Let’s put aside the fact that most modern IT departments have web based apps already which will work great. Apple has bulk selling rates, and all of our normal vendors, have been telling me for about a year now they have the full selection of Apple products and they can get me nice below-retail pricing.
Point 3: “Add to the fact that you still can’t use it as a REAL productivity machine – try typing a 50 page document on an iPad – Please.” –Ddevito
Counterpoint: I believe you were trying to illustrate absurdity here, it failed. Our board of directors and in fact all of our executive management team have iPads. I’ve watched them work, here’s the basic flow: 1) they write their documents on their PCs. 2) They then transfer these documents to their iPads. 3) They go to meetings, the use apps on the ipads to connect them to our bluetooth projectors and run their Microsoft PowerPoint presentations right out of the iPad. They review documents and make notes on them. Normally it doesn’t take too much typing. 4) They handle all of their email, calendar items, task lists, everything covered by outlook and Microsoft Active Directory right on the iPad. The iPad even auto populates the email addresses out of our Global Address Book from the Microsoft Exchange Server. Best of all, I hear from them about how they don’t have to lug their laptops all over the building, or to lunch.
Point 4: “Most companies have their machines locked down, so how can a company (especially without a corporate dev license) stop anyone from downloading apps and playing angry birds.” –Ddevito
Counterpoint: Really? This is why I used the word ignorant at the top of this post. take a look at this: http://www.apple.com/iphone/bu… I have complete control over the IOS devices in my enterprise. I can control exactly what apps they have, I can make templates and push them down so I effectively “image” the iPads when they arrive. One is missing? No problem, it’s wiped in a heartbeat.
Honestly, I’ll let you read through the link and the papers that follow it, suffice to say that Apple offers more features than Blackberry Enterprise Server. Maybe that’s why my company is pondering dropping the dinosaur company (RIM) and get iPhones for everyone.
To be fair aardman, Apple had a employment opportunity about a year ago for a “business integration manager”. My guess is they hired someone good.
Thanks
Ryan, for shining a light on Apple’s role in the BYOD trend. It’s been so
interesting to watch the iPhone and iPad turn from a “shiny toy” to an
essential business tool. Here at LifeSize (http://www.lifesize.com) we see the
overwhelming consumerization of IT as demand for videoconferencing software and
capabilities on a wide range of devices, and we spend our time working to make
sure that LifeSize software can be accessed from a host of products, including
all Apple products. We look forward to seeing what happens in the workforce – I
think that as time goes by, tablets and smartphones will become even more
integral to our everyday work success.
Can’t compose office notes or design logos or create music or beats for artists on iOS devices, NO creative usage going on over there!?! All of the retards of the world she be lined-up & smacked, repeatedly!
I’m going to be looking forward to these blog entries. The whole “any device, anywhere, anytime” statement is on everyone’s lips here but in practice 99% of them can’t get Windows out of their heads when deciding on infrastructure solutions. The business gets it, but IT is lagging. It will cost them.
The first real problem is adaptation. Must are already use to MS. And in reality, how much can you really get done on a mobile compared to a desktop machine? This really requires a revolution of something else before it can revolutionize the thinking of Tech. Execs.