IBM delivers setup-free Macs to businesses
It’s been over a year since Apple and IBM decided to partner up, in what seems to be one of the biggest deals between tech companies, focused on enterprise product and services. IBM has reportedly initiated the rollout of a new service, aimed at further facilitating deployment of Mac computers within organizations.
The new service, which is part of IBM’s MobileFirst strategy, allows business customers to order any Mac device, “a la carte”, and have it delivered to employees, fully configured, without no need for additional setup.
The pre-configured Macs will not only come loaded with all the necessary apps, software and data, they will also be configured to access the company’s network, to enable employees to quickly access email, and download business applications.
BYOD, or “Bring Your Own Device” is also a scenario that is covered under IBM’s strategy to help businesses be operational in the shortest amount of time. Deployment of employees’ own devices is carried through, either via cloud-powered SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), or through the company’s own data centers.
IBM has recently been in talks to purchase as many as 200 thousand MacBooks per annum, for employees, according to a recent video posted on YouTube, which is an indication of just how committed the two companies are to each other, and what this means to enterprise customers.
The new offering also includes existing services such as the Casper program, which is designed specifically for teachers to manage classroom activities and interact with larger numbers of students, without assistance of IT personnel. Under the program, classroom staff can be provided with MacBook Air, MacBook and MacBook Pro, as well as pre-configured desktop products, like the Mac Mini, the iMac and the Mac Pro, without the need for additional configuration, and ready to connect automatically to the local network’s infrastructure.
It goes without saying that the program still includes iOS devices, like iPad and iPhone.
Is the figure of the IT person becoming obsolete?
Depending on the type of organization, IT personnel have been seen as either highly-valued, or loathed. While on-site’s network specialists and system administrators are a valuable asset within a mid-size to large company, smaller infrastructures see little value in allocating company resources for the purpose of maintaining, for instance, 50 systems or less, however, up until a few years ago, this hefty cost was necessary, to ensure smooth operations.
Today, a renewed focus on enterprise applications and services from tech giants like Apple and Microsoft, and a more refined approach to device deployment, SaaS and BYOD is quickly changing the landscape for businesses, and finally bringing down the cost of managing a company’s internal IT, no matter the size.