[Ed] Why the Mac mini won't make it in the enterprise


ComputerWorld is carrying an opinion piece by Frank Hayes that states that the Mac mini's chances of making it in the corporate world are, well, nill. But, how he goes about saying it is strange and he misses an important point that has nothing to do with Apple, let alone IT managers' anti-Mac bias.

Here are some quotes:

[I]rrelevant Apple gets to do pretty much whatever it wants. Because corporate IT shuns Macs, Apple doesn't sell to us. It sells to the Mac faithful, who will buy almost anything with an Apple logo... [ed--FUD]

Form factor? Where Macs lead, PCs follow. Dictionary-size PCs haven't moved much in the US in the past. But if the Mac mini becomes a fad item, PC vendors will finally offer really small PCs that are hard for users to fiddle with...

For corporate IT, there's no downside to the Mini. And any upside will take a year or so to hit us. It'll be a while before we see whether Apple creates as big a buzz with the Mini...

Picking nits...

I don't doubt Hayes' punt that it will take PC makers a year, if not more, to catch up with Apple. Honestly, the only competitor anywhere close is VIA (ITX) and today's unholy hack shows clearly just how far off the mark that company is.

And, doesn't it seem odd that Hayes states unequivocally both that Apple is "irrelevant" and "Where Macs lead, PCs follow"? It's not a complete logic break, but he's definitely skating on thin ice.

Nevertheless, I will posit that Hayes is ultimately right--Macs won't make gains in the enterprise--but for the wrong reasons.

A balanced playing field?

Never mind that he neglects just how compatible networked Macs are or that "the rest of us" are still impervious to malware. Where he goes wrong is Microsoft and how it prices Office.

For example, an enterprise buying Office '04 (Mac) is expected to pay to $330 (SRP), whereas Office 2003 (PC) sells for just $169. Of course, if you believe the spammers, a broad range of Office versions for the PC sell for under $100.

Yes, you can find Office for the Mac for less than $330, but Microsoft's grip on prices on this side of the fence is much, much tighter.

And, one assumes volume pricing is available on both platforms, but can you imagine Redmond charging Mac users less? Under any circumstances?

Food for thought, eh?