The Mac Pro was recently released to much fanfare after years of speculation about features, price, and design. While the pricing of the machine and its upgrade options have caused somewhat of an uproar, it certainly has its place in the IT world. After looking over all the information about the machine, watching reviews, and pondering its place in the enterprise, here’s a look at the Mac Pro from an enterprise perspective.
About Apple @ Work: Bradley Chambers has been managing an enterprise IT network since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing firewalls, switches, a mobile device management system, enterprise-grade Wi-Fi, 100s of Macs, and 100s of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple IT managers deploy Apple devices, build networks to support them, train users, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for IT departments.
Easy Repairs and Upgrades
One of the biggest complaints about Apple laptops/desktops in recent years is the difficulty in repairing them. Many of the components are expensive enough to where it’s not cost-effective to fix them. With the new Mac Pro, we’ve seen a return to the modular format that made the Mac Pro such a popular computer before. As an example, upgrading RAM is incredibly simple.
Apple even has an entire section on the Mac Pro website about parts you can swap out. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a page like this on Apple.com. You can replace RAM, PCIe cards, I/O cards, power supply, the SSD, and add additional storage.
As your needs change, it’ll make the Mac Pro last longer if you can upgrade your hardware as you grow. RAM prices certainly fall over time, so instead of overpaying for what you don’t need today, you can wait for your needs to change or the prices to fall. If you want to learn more about the PCIe cards you can install, check out this support document. The repairability and easy upgrades are key factors why enterprise customers will love the Mac Pro.
Portability
The portability of the Mac Pro is a key reason why some IT departments will want to deploy it. Depending on the type of organization you have, you might have temporary workspaces, onsite client projects, etc. In the past, you’d have to buy a MacBook Pro and overpay for mobile components when you didn’t need them. With the Mac Pro’s wheels, you can load it and easily take it wherever you need to go. You couldn’t do that with an iMac or iMac Pro. For temporary projects and mobile rigs, the Mac Pro might be a nice option to balance expandability and portability.
Mac Pro enterprise use case: accessibility
I am not an expert here, but my friend Steven Aquino took a look at how the Mac Pro might impact accessibility.
I am a big fan of Steven’s work, so I highly recommend you check out this blog. He’s the resident expert on Apple and accessibility.
Wrap-up on Mac Pro and the enterprise
The Mac Pro isn’t for everyone. It isn’t for a lot of people. But the people the computer is made for, it’s the only computer that will fill the needs. The Mac Pro shows Apple still believes in creatives, and that is important for the enterprise. It shows Apple is willing to return to what worked. As someone who has deployed thousands of Macs in his lifetime for end-users, I love seeing Apple build products for niche use cases once again.
