Apple In Your Enterprise: What you Need To Know About Apple’s New M1 Chip Before Switching
Do you know what Apple’s M1 chip has to offer your enterprise, and what steps you need to take if you plan to make the switch?
Windows has long been the gold standard for most office environments. In terms of business solutions, Microsoft has been in the game for a long time, and benefits from that longevity.
However, in recent years, we’ve seen more and more businesses start switching to Apple products — and not just for personal devices anymore. As Apple develops more and more effective office-based solutions, they’re becoming a more viable option for business owners and managers to consider.
The recent trend with ARM-based chips (such as Apple’s M1 chip) presents an enticing opportunity for business owners to make the jump to Apple. However, before you do so, make sure you know what you stand to gain, and how to go about making the change effectively.
Why Would You Consider Switching to Apple?
There are several reasons why we’re seeing more and more organizations adopting Apple products for their offices:
M1 Chips Are Built For Speed: Apple’s iteration of the ARM chip offers wildly fast speeds. With this type of hardware, users can edit high-resolution photos up to three times faster, scroll and load data more smoothly, and better support their multi-tasking and processor-intensive processes.
Longer Battery Life: The longer battery life boasted by today’s MacBooks make them ideal for remote and hybrid workers. Taking a laptop between the office, home, and elsewhere is a lot simpler when you’re not looking for an outlet everywhere you go.
Better ROI: Apple products tend to offer both high-end product quality and a reasonable price point when weighed against the competition. Recent models are even eating into the success of their own product line, demonstrating Apple’s commitment to budget-friendly prices.
Built-In Security Features: The M1 chip offers both touch ID and storage controller with AES encryption hardware. Together, this delivers fast performance and confident security.
As great as these features are, it’s important to think carefully before you make the switch. Managing a migration from one OS to another can be difficult, and so, you need to plan carefully.
What You Need To Know Before Switching
Given how different Microsoft and Apple systems are, you won’t be able to just make the change directly. You’ll need to take a few steps to ensure the process is smooth and effective.
Keep the following in mind when planning your switch:
No Out-of-the-Box Solutions: These two systems are incompatible. No Apple products will be able to integrate with your current Windows networks, which means you’ll have to pay for software that manages this for you.
Lost In Translation: The user experience offered by Apple is a lot different from the one you and your users have become accustomed to with Windows. Make sure you and your team are ready for a bit of a learning curve when adjusting to Apple’s OS and navigating through the new environment.
One concern with switching to Apple that consistently comes up is if Microsoft Office apps will still work on Apple’s OS. The truth is Microsoft 365 and the Microsoft Office Suite (Windows, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) are still considered the gold standard for productivity apps. Having said that, these apps still work flawlessly on Apple devices. In fact, Microsoft Office was one of the first apps rebuilt to run natively on Apple’s M1 Chip for the reasons we just mentioned.
Here are some examples of differences between Apple and Windows:
The look and feel of the Operating Systems are completely different.
Some of your familiar and preferred apps may not work.
Slight differences in keyboard/mouse shortcuts and commands.
As of right now the M1 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air only allow one monitor to be connected.
Custom and legacy in-house software may need tweaking in order to work properly.
Apple ID for Business: Another key difference to make note of is how Apple handles individual device management. Security for Apple devices has always been considered as being on a higher level than their Windows counterparts, they boast different types of encryption and security features that Windows hasn’t been able to match just yet.
What is key to note is that Apple has always created their products with a consumer-first mindset, by default this is the case when it comes to device management and security as well. Each device is managed separately and tied to an individual’s Apple ID whereas Windows users can be licensed and managed as a group. Apple products will have to be configured with Apple IDs for business accounts to ensure organizational governance and device management.
As you can see, there’s a lot to consider and handle when it comes to switching from Microsoft to Apple products. The good news is that you don’t have to handle it on your own — get in touch with the happier IT team for expert assistance.
How happier IT can help
As Apple becomes a more popular choice for office environments, IT companies like us are offering more robust support services, such as dedicated Apple device management. Our team will help you recognize and address the differences in integrating a more straightforward deployment, and handle device management for multiple environments, no matter the size of your organization.
We will help you in a range of ways:
Organizational Device Management: It’s important to note that components like encryption and device management are tied to the Apple ID for each individual user. We know that you need control over such things.
Our team will help you keep an eye on inventory with scalable, real-time visibility over all the Apple devices in your network, including bringing network security, authentication and encryption control back to the organization instead of the individual.Deployment And Enrollment: We will help you consistently manage hardware and software across all devices in order to maintain a balanced, secure environment. A key service we offer is Mobile Device Management, through which we’ll help you take advantage of programs like Automated Device Enrollment in Apple Business Manager, which will help you achieve smoother workflow experiences.
Controlled Security And Remediation: As discussed above, it’s important that you ensure security and monitoring are not handled at the user level. We will actively monitor your systems for problems in a proactive manner to reduce support tickets and unnecessary downtime.
Fast And Effective Support For Your Users: Making the change to Apple systems can be difficult for users that are accustomed to Microsoft. Our 24/7 support services will help your staff with any issues they encounter, whether they are in the office or working remotely.
Need Help Accelerating Your Apple Adoption?
Whether you’re ready to make the switch or are curious about how introducing Apple devices might affect your IT environment, we can help you identify the challenges and find the right solutions to achieve an affordable and efficient transition.
Call the happier IT team and talk to an IT expert to see how we can help manage and deploy the Apple products that your team is looking for.