Walmart working w/ Apple to broaden its Mac rollout, citing lower support costs than PCs

At the ongoing Jamf enterprise conference, Walmart teased plans for a broader rollout of the Mac to its employees and retail stores. Speaking at the event, Miles Leacy, Walmart’s ‘technical expert for Apple technologies’ explained that the retail giant is working with Apple and Jamf to expand its rollout of Macs…

Walmart currently manages 7,000 Mac computers globally, something the company views as a small test prior to a much broader program. The company said that it will “probably” be managing some 100,000 Macs this time next year, though Leacy said it in a way that more implies that being a “moonshot” goal at this point, rather than a structured plan.

“This time next year we will probably be managing 100,000 Macs,” Leacy told the JNUC crowd. “In a few months we are going to announce the choice program for employees. Working with Jamf and Apple to get it done.”

Leacy went on to explain that it’s hard to dispute the facts when it comes to choosing between Mac and PC for corporate use. He noted that the total cost of ownership for Walmart is far less for rolling out Macs than supporting a Windows machine. Leacy also said support calls from Mac users are far less than ones from Windows users:

He added that it’s hard to argue with the facts. “Walmart’s motto is ‘Everyday Low Cost’ so we looked at TCO [total cost of ownership] for our technology. The cost of deploying and securing [Mac] at this point is a lot cheaper than supporting a Windows box — it just makes good business sense.”

One of the stats cited to support this was that 60 percent of help calls IT receives are from Windows users, versus 40 percent, which are from those with a Mac.

Apple’s efforts in enterprise have made significant strides over recent years. IBM and Apple have worked together to rollout Macs to many of its employees – rolling out 100,000 machines. That rollout has produced great results for IBM, who continues to tout the partnership.

Apple has also worked with SAP to create tools that make it easier to develop business software.

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