Forrester Research last week recommended corporate IT departments
let workers use Macs on their networks because these employees are
more likely to be power users, the ones working longer hours, being
more productive and making more money.
Posted on 11/02/2011 4:19:29 PM PDT by Swordmaker
The folks at Forrester Research reversed themselves last week with the recommendation that corporate IT departments need to make it easier for workers to use Mac computers and devices. The tech research firm had long told the same IT departments not to bother accommodating devices from Apple Inc.
Why the change of mind?
Forrester says it is because the most productive employees, what it dubs "power users," are already using Macs, anyways.
Analyst David Johnson wrote in the report, "It's time to repeal prohibition and take decisive action. Mac users are your HEROes and you should enable them not hinder them."
Forrester uses the acronym HERO for Highly Empowered and Resourceful Operatives, what it finds are "the 17% of information workers who use new technologies and find innovative ways to be more productive and serve customers more effectively." The report could be a troubling sign for Microsoft (NYSE: MSFT), which continues to rely on sales of its signature Windows operating system -- including placement on PCs in offices worldwide -- for a huge part of its revenue base.
Johnson said that a new survey found "most of the Macs today are being freewheeled into the office by executives, top sales reps, and other workaholics. Forrester believes this is the same demographic that we're now calling the "power laptop user."
Forrester found that such "power laptop users" work more hours and make more money.
Many of them are already buying MacBook Pros with their own money because their company only supplies Windows-based laptops, the report says.
But Forrester says it found 41 percent of businesses it surveyed are now blocking access to their networks with employee-owned Macs, a situation it says must end.
"Stand in the way and you will eventually get run over," Forrester says.
The report offers six steps for IT departments to do to help Mac users access their enterprises and gives three case studies of companies that have done it.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Sure. Whatever.
My IT staff prefers ‘em....
Any company that handles privileged customer information that could be used for identity theft and lets employee owned compters onto it's network is eventually going to pay dearly for it.
Bah hah ahah
Gee most M$ users want to be free to do all the power stuff, yet you would bind them down. How Steve of you.
How about a compromise - I'll let them do all the "power stuff", but they can only do it with your personal information.
This really about the VPs that bring thier employee owned iPads into work and create all sorts of new attack vectors for hackers. Truth - Mac OWNERS are more susceptible to social engineering attacks because they falsly think that Mac’s are safer than PCs ... ducking for cover now that I made myself a target for the Apple hit squad!
MAC Ping!
As a rule I would say that employee-owned computers -- OF ANY TYPE -- do not belong on a corporate network. I've maintained that rule on the corporate network I administer and it has worked out well.
The cases where an employee has taken their company-issued (Windows) computer home and let their kids play on it (against the rules) have been awful -- they bring it back in and it's filthy (software-wise) and causes problems.
I think Macs can be just as productive in general, sometimes more so and sometimes less so, than Windows PCs. Depends on what you have to do with the computer. But there's no justification or excuse for letting uncontrolled machines on a corporate network, regardless of operating system.
REAL TRUTH: You can't name a single piece of hackware that can run on a Mac -- and then infect a PC.
MY Brother works as a regional director for the Big X corp.They started accommodating macs about 7 years ago.He came to us for a crash course on them...we told him double or single click....LOL
You would be wrong about that but don’t let facts get in the way of your fantasy....
“Stand in the way and you will eventually get run over,” Forrester says.
It was that way for PCs in the early years. I designed and coded for mainframes and some of the managers would sneak PCs into their departments and start doing their own thing. The IT dept was livid when they found these, but the managers would not be suppressed - it was just too easy for the users to get what they needed with the PCs.
I think if employees want to use Macs, then there should be some accommodations made for them with company-provided machines and specific terms of use.
My own company has both Macs and PCs, and we are starting to incorporate iPads into the workflow for those who are often on the road.
“Any company that handles privileged customer information that could be used for identity theft and lets employee owned compters onto it’s network is eventually going to pay dearly for it.”
A better approach is:
“Any company that handles privileged customer information that doesn’t properly segregate it at the network level is eventually going to pay dearly for it.”
USB drives are far more ubiquitous than Macs. Also, the vast majority of positions at almost all companies requires no access to such information.
Active Directory Group Policy can disable the use of USB drives on domain-joined Windows computers, and prevent network access by non-domain joined computers. Macs cannot be joined to an Active Directory network, or be controlled by AD Group Policy.
As far as whether a "position" requires access to the information, once non-secured computers are allowed onto the network then you're faced with trying to control who can and cannot use those computers.
If you have that kind of information on your network, there is no rationializing allowing employees to access that data from a non-corporate computer as being anything but very bad practice.
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