CDW and Apple are expanding their efforts to ease the deployment Mac- and iOS-based technology products into the enterprise by bringing the Apple at Work program to Canada, following its introduction in the U.S. earlier this year.
Apple at Work is part of a larger initiative by the iPhone maker to demonstrate the security, ease of use and other attributes of its products in business settings. CDW, which services both the public and private sector, acts a consulting service to help organizations assess Apple’s portfolio and how they might help achieve business objectives, then set up, support and help manage them.
CDW Canada is launcing Apple at Work through a dedicated web page that offers documentation and explainer videos about how Mac and iOS devices can work within various industries and departments. CDW Canada director of product and partner management Dan Reio said the two companies would begin advertising locally to raise awareness that it is prepared to assist both large enterprises or small and medium-sized businesses to work with Apple tools.
“Because it’s been a Microsoft/Windows/Intel world in the business sector history, a lot of their applications — the home grown ones — may not have worked well, or at all, with Apple technology,” he told B2B News Network. “There’s a bit of effort required, and we’re offering the expertise to understand what those pitfalls are and what services or capabilities are required to help customers.”
In some cases, for instance, CDW Canada might help organization migrate apps from one platform to another. For certain programs and tools, however, businesses might need to set up a virtualized environment where Apple software or hardware can be run without causing challenges with the rest of the IT infrastructure. While CDW will conduct an assessment, Reio said it’s not always an in-depth exercise.
“It could be somehting as simple as a conversation — ‘What are the apps you use?’” he said, adding that the program spans the entire iOS environment as well as helping firms use MacBooks, for example. “It’s Apple At Work, not just Mac at Work.”
According to Reio, Apple at Work is often seen by corporate customers as a means to attract the talent they want and to improve the engagement of existing employees, who may be accustomed to using Macs and iPhones in their personal lives. This not only includes new hires and Millennials, he added — there are also those at the CEO level who have indicated a preference for the brand’s technologies.
“Most business organizations already have Apple in some way, shape or form,” he said. “This is about making sure we do it properly instead of someone having it come in through the side door, so to speak, and hoping it will work.”
CDW Canada said it will also offer employee training as part of Apple at Work, as well as financing and guidance on lifecycle management of Apple products.
