Historically speaking, Windows has been the dominant operating system in the wider business marketplace. It’s versatility and ease of use allowed it to outwit and outfight better rivals that have come and gone. Anyone remember the Atari ST or Amiga? The pre-emptive Amiga OS was considered way ahead of it’s time with unprecedented features for it’s price. It wasn’t the technology that killed it off (it’s still a going concern) but it never managed to break through the critical mass point that Windows had garnered.
But the last 10 years has brought a not-so-quiet revolution.
With a strong, even cult-like consumer following, Apple products have always been seen as desirable ‘toys’ and all forms of ‘i-somethings’ top wish lists and splurges for the ardent fans. And with the explosion of employees bringing, and using, their own devices for business purposes, Mac has made huge strides in terms of infiltrating the commercial space.
But what if you’re a Windows strong company? Can your IT infrastructure have both Mac and PC and still be successful? Stick with me as I take you through the most frequent concerns with regards to blended system environments and highlight how to ease the impact of a Mac-Windows infrastructure.
Compatibility Considerations for a Mac-Windows Environment
Hardware
The Apple business model is to supply the hardware and operating system that runs on it. In years gone by Apple went to extremes to differentiate the Mac. The ports were custom, the processor was PowerPC based and even some of the network protocols used were different. Apple’s business model hasn’t changed externally, you can spot a Mac a mile off, but internally Apple got wise and built ‘PC’s’. Crack open a Mac today and you’ll find all the same hardware that sits in a PC. This is an encouraging move from a technical perspective, helping to alleviate numerous compatibility issues at a hardware level. Further, this means that - if needs be - it’s possible to have an Apple machine running Windows as its operating system, allowing full compatibility with existing PCs.
Operating System
But what if the user needs - or wants - OS X rather than Windows? Is it still viable within a business environment with the main contingent being PCs? How will multiple operating systems affect business efficiency and productivity? The answer is complex and depends on context and software.
Applications
If we’re talking about software for word processing, image manipulation or general file editing most vendors offer software to cover both platforms. In the instances where this isn’t the case it’s usually easy to find alternative vendors that can edit the files cross-platform. This becomes more complicated when you use specialised software though, and you’ll probably need to evaluate which computer - Mac or PC - is best suited to the applications in question.
File Copying - File Servers
OS X’s heritage includes a network file protocol called AFP, which allows Macs to copy files to one another. AFP still exists and has valid use, but it’s days are numbered as Apple has switched the default network protocol to SMB. SMB is the default protocol used for Windows and just about every file serving vendor supports it. Mileage varies in regards to AFP, but this is a moot point when the Mac can talk the same lingo as a PC.
File Copying - The Cloud
Cloud services have made file sharing and synchronisation between computers incredibly easy. Dropbox is a good example and works well irrespective of whether you have a Mac or a PC. Google Drive also fits into this category. It’s main focus is to use a web browser to access files but it also has a client that can be installed on Mac or PC and synchronises in the same fashion as Dropbox.
The main point of contention these days isn’t how files are delivered to computers, but rather if the file type can be opened in an appropriate application (see applications).
Communication
Email is, was and will in all likelihood remain an ubiquitous communication channel. And the number of email programmes to select from runs deep with not much in the way of differentiation, apart from a few features. In the business scenario, in order to maintain a standard approach, it’s preferable to determine an appropriate email client to be used across platforms. An alternative is to sidestep loaded software entirely and to use web-based systems like Google Apps.
Security and Login - Active Directory
Numerous businesses use Microsoft’s Active Directory (AD) to improve security and allow for single sign-on across several applications. Apple has gone to some lengths to make sure that a Mac can join a Mac to AD and be governed by some of the policies that it provides. Group policies aren’t entirely compatible and it’s not possible to deploy applications via AD to a Mac just yet, but there are plenty of third party tools that enable this.
Windows Applications
What about when a Mac user needs to use a Windows only product? Even these barriers have come crashing down. It’s possible, with a machine restart, to run Windows natively on a Mac. If this is too cumbersome or multi-tasking is required between Mac and Windows applications it’s achievable to virtualise Windows and run the two concurrently. While certainly not an exhaustive list, Virtualbox, VMWare Fusion and Parallels all offer this capability. Another alternative is to use Terminal Server or Citrix to publish applications as if they’re running directly on the Mac. Amazon enable this with their Workspaces option. And if that all fails, there’s the good old fashioned remote control of a real PC via VNC, RDP or Teamviewer.
As you can see from the above, it’s perfectly feasible these days to have a blended systems environment, with Mac and Windows users working side by side, without significant compatibility or productivity hindrances. As Apple continue to gain ground in the business sphere we anticipate that it’s only a matter of time before any remaining compatibility and functionality issues are overcome at the manufacturer level.
Want to get your Macs and PCs to co-exist? Get in touch and let's have a chat about how we can assist.
