IBM Says Macs Are Up to $543 Less Expensive Than PCs Over Time

[MacRumors]

At the Jamf Nation User Conference yesterday, designed for IT management professionals, IBM VP of Workplace as a Service Fletcher Previn talked about IBM's decision to start letting employees choose between Windows or Mac machines, the cost of PCs vs. Macs, and the resulting changes to the company.

IBM began adopting Macs for its employees in mid-2015, quickly becoming one of Apple's largest corporate customers. In the first year, IBM deployed approximately 30,000 Macs, and with employees have continuing to choose Macs over PCs, IBM now has 90,000 deployed Macs supported by five admins.

There were assumptions early on that Macs would be significantly more expensive than PCs, but over the last year, IBM has found that it's actually PCs that are more expensive. Over a four-year lifespan, Previn says IBM saves up to $543 per Mac compared to a PC.

But isn't it expensive, and doesn't it overload IT? No. IBM found that not only do PCs drive twice the amount of support calls, they're also three times more expensive. That's right, depending on the model, IBM is saving anywhere from $273 - $543 per Mac compared to a PC, over a four-year lifespan. "And this reflects the best pricing we've ever gotten from Microsoft," Previn said. Multiply that number by the 100,000+ Macs IBM expects to have deployed by the end of the year, and we're talking some serious savings.

At last year's Jamf conference, Previn made similar comments. At the time, it had been only months since IBM deployed the Macs, but already, IBM had been noticing savings because Macs required less management and setup efforts than PCs, despite costing more up front. "Every Mac that we buy is making and saving IBM money," Previn said last year, and at this year's conference, that remained true. "Every Mac we buy is in fact continuing to make and save IBM money," he reiterated.

Macs are continuing to grow in popularity with IBM employees, and 73 percent say they want their next machine to be a Mac. To keep up with demand, IBM is deploying 1,300 new Macs each week, using Jamf and Apple's Device Enrollment Program to get new users set up quickly.

Employees receive a consumer experience from the moment they receive their Mac, which continues with a Workstation Asset Management Tool and a re-designed intranet, providing employees with an Apple-like, self-help experience. Not only do these additions drive self-sufficiency among employees, but they also help create confidence with the product.

Along with IBM's success, the Jamf conference also highlighted the use of Apple products in schools and in healthcare. In La Crosse, Wisconsin, students across 11 elementary schools, six middle schools, and four high schools successfully use iPads and MacBooks in the classroom to meet unique learning needs.

At the upcoming Jacobs Medical Center at the University of California, San Diego, iPads and Apple TVs will be deployed in 245 patient rooms to make it easier for patients to access their medical records, get medication reminders, and control lights, blinds, and room temperature.

Article Link: IBM Says Macs Are Up to $543 Less Expensive Than PCs Over Time

 

[farewelwilliams]

that's because they have no new hardware to buy over time.

 

[kevinkyoo]

If Apple hasn't released an updated version of the 2013 Mac Pro (Which is non-upgradeable), then yeah. You're going to save money because you have no options

 

[Born Again]

IBM just wait for the Apple Tax to kick in with the new Macbooks revealed next week.

 

[gugy]

Well, let me just say I have currently a 2011 MacPro that rocks and two 2005 AC 30" displays that still awesome. The only thing I recommend is Applecare because I had issues during the first 3 years on my MP but for sure my experience with Macs are that they last longer and work very well over long periods of time.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

I'm having trouble following the statement that PCs are three times more expensive with savings of up to $543 per Mac? How cheap are they getting PCs? I can do that math, that just seems incredible (as in not credible).

edit: never mind, read the comma as a period and didn't process that as a dependent clause referring to the cost of support calls.

 

[balconycollapse]

I have a 2011 iMac i5 2.7ghz I just put an SSD in after doing some surgery and it's just as fast as my MacBook 12" and wives MacBook Pro. The hard drive was the bottleneck since not much has changed with processors for many years. I'm able to do Final Cut and Logic X with large amounts of media just fine.

 

[AppleInTheMud]

When I buy a new iMac, I always get good money for my old one. So true... In the long run Apple isn't that expensive.


Except when it comes to phones... iPhone is crazy over priced. Still by the thing though

 

[flyinmac]

If we're comparing this to PC's deployed with IBM OS/2 perhaps.

It would be interesting to read the full contract IBM signed with Apple.

Curious if in the fine print is a marketing / publicity clause.

 

[iThingsGurl]

Perks of a closed architecture.

 

[kazmac]

While I grumbled, my 6 year old 21.5" iMac is still running. Sure it's slower and the super drive finally died last month, but she still works.

This was an interesting read. Nice to read more Mac news.

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

This article sounds like it was cribbed from 1998 to 2000 when everyone was saying how macs may cost more but IT support is much lower which saves money in the end.

It's refreshing to see it again, backed up with data from a company such as IBM.

 

[AustinIllini]

When it comes to quality hardware/software integration, it has always been Apple.

 

[usersince86]

25 years ago, who would have thought the Mac's great defender would be IBM?

 

[RobertMartens]

IBM just wait for the Apple Tax to kick in with the new Macbooks revealed next week.

You think the TAX will be 500 dollars. You are of course referring to the new USB cable! I remember when the iMac forced us all to move to USB. What a waste of time that was.

 

[aloshka]

This used to be true, but not so much anymore. Now a days, I get more calls from my friends with macs than PCs.

PLEASE READ: THIS IS MY OPINION. KEEP YOUR TROLLING AND FLAMING TO YOURSELF. MY OPINION DOES NOT REFLECT THAT OF TIM COOK, THE APPLE CULT, THE DIE HARD APPLE FANS, ANDROID FANS, OR TAYLOR SWIFT.

 

[richpjr]

As someone who regularly deals with IBM and their technical support staff, given their exorbitant rates, that equates to about 2 extra hours of support over the lifetime of the PC!

 

[thisisnotmyname]

90,000 Macs supported by FIVE administrators. Wow. 1300 new Macs provisioned each week by those five people? less than 10 minutes to provision each machine if they do nothing but provision new devices. That's some major assembly line economy of scale there.

 

[chriscrowlee]

25 years ago, who would have thought the Mac's great defender would be IBM?

I was going to say the exact same thing. LOL

 

[RobertMartens]

I'm having trouble following the statement that PCs are three times more expensive with savings of up to $543 per Mac? How cheap are they getting PCs? I can do that math, that just seems incredible (as in not credible).

edit: never mind, read the comma as a period and didn't process that as a dependent clause referring to the cost of support calls.

I hate when I don't process dependent clauses properly too; this is an apple; this is a pen.

 

[bladerunner2000]

My fully upgradeable Hackintosh would beg to differ.

 

[AJ5790]

This used to be true, but not so much anymore. Now a days, I get more calls from my friends with macs than PCs.

PLEASE READ: THIS IS MY OPINION. KEEP YOUR TROLLING AND FLAMING TO YOURSELF. MY OPINION DOES NOT REFLECT THAT OF TIM COOK, THE APPLE CULT, THE DIE HARD APPLE FANS, ANDROID FANS, OR TAYLOR SWIFT.

But across a 200k device deployment (statistically significant data, not anecdotes) they're getting fewer calls, thus your statement is insignificant from a statistical perspective.

 

[javco]

This used to be true, but not so much anymore. Now a days, I get more calls from my friends with macs than PCs.

PLEASE READ: THIS IS MY OPINION. KEEP YOUR TROLLING AND FLAMING TO YOURSELF. MY OPINION DOES NOT REFLECT THAT OF TIM COOK, THE APPLE CULT, THE DIE HARD APPLE FANS, ANDROID FANS, OR TAYLOR SWIFT.

What kind of problems your friends have? Hardware/OS issues? Or just want to know how to do things like backup, etc

 

[Blackstick]

We have 800 Macs (also managed with Jamf's Casper Suite) and 2800 PCs, majority on Windows 7 Enterprise... on average we get 4000 Mac help requests per year and 93000 PC requests... so yeah Fletcher's math makes sense. He gave the same presentation the previous year at JNUC.

 

[AJ5790]

My fully upgradeable Hackintosh would beg to differ.

What does your hackintosh have to do with their ability to cut costs over 4 years? Nothing. They're running a business, and deploying thousands of devices. No correlation.