As enablers of Mac integration with traditional Windows networks, Parallels often surveys Windows IT professionals to understand the trends associated with supporting a dual-platform environment. This is the second in a series of five blog posts that will summarize our results, the challenges revealed in a recent survey we conducted to understand the usage and growth of Mac in corporate and academic networks, and the awareness and potential benefits of solutions to help IT pros enable Mac support and management.

This post will look at our results and focus on the perceived advantages of using Mac in the workplace.

Our data showed five advantages of using Mac in the workplace:

Greater Employee Preference—If given an option to pick their own hardware, more employees would choose to work on Mac than on PCs.

Attract Employees—Employees are more attracted to workplaces that feature a Mac operating system. There are a myriad of potential reasons this is true: perhaps employees entering the workplace are used to Mac devices and want to use them in their work environment, or creative teams need access to Mac-specific applications, maybe development teams need to test on various platforms, etc.

More Reliable Hardware—System longevity, less susceptibility to viruses, and more resilient hardware were a few of the reasons that employees thought Mac machines were more reliable.

Better Mobile Device Integration—iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch were the most common ways that employees were able to use their Mac devices on the go to create a fluid work environment, whether at home or away from the office. Since there is often a mobile preference for the Apple ecosystem, employees want to extend Apple to their work computers.

Easier to Support—Mac users believe the Mac infrastructure has superior reliability and integration, and Mac IT managers find the Mac OS easier to maintain. While Windows admins might not agree with those beliefs, our solutions allow them to leverage what they know while easily supporting users who need Mac.

In my last post, I referenced an article Galen Gruman wrote for InfoWorld entitled “The truth about Macs in the enterprise,” which discussed distinct Mac advantages. It’s important to note that Gruman also says in his article that an all-Mac environment is “as unreasonable as an all-Windows one” and that Windows PCs at work (running Windows 7 and Windows 10) will likely remain the standard choice for the majority of work users. We at Parallels wholeheartedly agree with both assertions, and our solutions are designed to provide IT administrators with solutions to the most common challenges of supporting a dual or multi-platform environment.

For example, how do organizations extend their security policies and compliance procedures holistically across both PC and Mac? At the end of the day, no matter the brand, all computers need to be managed to mitigate potential risks. Additionally, how can IT managers support Mac users who need access to Windows-only applications or need to run multiple OS virtual machines, while maintaining visibility and control over those licenses? Parallels solutions can support both of these scenarios and provide administrators cost-effective solutions that address these challenges.