Apple Macs. Are they a realistic option in the SME environment?

⇒ Managed Services, Small Business IT

Posted on: 31 Jan 2012

Posted by: Chris Nuttall

Yes, it is possible to use a Mac in a work environment but you do need to make sure you are aware of the implications of using them in a predominately Microsoft environment. Read on for our hints and tips to using a Mac at work.

With the increase in Apple’s popularity the Apple Mac has become a desirable tool in the office environment. Although the compatibility between Macs and PCs has improved greatly in recent years, managing both the Windows and Mac elements of a corporate network can be difficult due to underlying differences in the Mac software.

For most organisations, office work will mostly consist of the usual editing of Word, Excel, PowerPoint documents and Outlook for email In addition; many organisations also have line-of-business applications that support specific business functions. To perform your everyday office tasks you will need Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac. This is an excellent piece of software and has evolved to overcome the compatibility and formatting issues experienced in past versions. However, there are still a few issues. Outlook for Mac isn’t as polished as Outlook for Windows (with noticeable delays in the sending and receiving of emails). Also, if you use Microsoft Exchange Server as your email server, it must be Exchange Server 2007 or later or it will not work with Office 2011.

The new version of Mail in Apple’s OSX Lion seems to work well with the new version of Microsoft’s email server product, Exchange 2010. Outlook Web Access is also another option for email but only the ‘light’ version can be used on the Mac (because of the lack of Internet Explorer) so you will once again experience a lack of functionality.

The lack of Internet Explorer can also cause issues with some line-of-business applications. For example; here are Systems Ability run Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which can only be accessed via Internet Explorer so it simply does not work on the Mac. However, there are two solutions that could help you connect to line of business applications:

Firstly, you can use a Remote Desktop connection (RDP).  RDP allows remote access to a Windows PC or terminal server and, therefore, to any applications running on them. Provided that you have a reliable wireless or internet connection you can run a full Windows desktop via RDP on any Mac, iPad or iPhone. 

Secondly, you can use virtualisation software such as Fusion from VMware. By running Fusion on your Mac, you can then also install Microsoft Windows or even Linux on the same machine. You can then install Windows applications on the local copy of Windows machine and switch between your Windows and Mac applications as required. You can even run the Windows application directly from the Mac desktop without having to switch into Windows first.  For example, you can run Internet Explorer, as if it were a Mac application (which is how I run Microsoft CRM on my own Mac).

Another great feature of Fusion is that you can convert your existing Windows PC to a virtual machine and have and exact copy of it running ‘in’ you Mac within an hour or so. Bear in mind there are some extra costs: your Mac needs to be a good specification (plenty of RAM) and you will also need a license for VMware Fusion and one for Microsoft Windows.

Please speak to us if you are thinking about using Apple products within your business, so you can get the most from them and avoid the common pitfalls.

Chris Nuttall, Director and PC to Mac convert.

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