Change is coming - blame Steve Jobs and Company

Continuting the discussion of Gartners 2008 Top Ten Predictions for I.T.

Gartner's first prediction will make life interesting for many I.T. shops that have standardized on Windows - successfully standardized. For many of these shops there have always been islands of Mac. But those islands have remained isolated (read easily contained).

In the past several years (perhaps a decade) Apple has moved closer to Unix (via Next). With the introduction of servers that could be better integrate with the rest of our infrastructure began to find advocates. Apple can clearly serve those shops that have been Mac based for some time. Apple is now poised to extend it reach into new areas with the support of advocates that have found bridges between the Windows or perhaps Unix/Linux and Mac worlds.

With regard to change - this is an opportunity and a challenge - it is an opportunity to better serve a segment of our user population that has been under served today. It is a challenge because it requires new skill sets and resources that have to be fit into already stretched budgets.

Here is Gartner's first Prediction.

By 2011, Apple will double its U.S. and Western Europe unit market share in Computers. Apple's gains in computer market share reflect as much on the failures of the rest of the industry as on Apple's success. Apple is challenging its competitors with software integration that provides ease of use and flexibility; continuous and more frequent innovation in hardware and software; and an ecosystem that focuses on interoperability across multiple devices (such as iPod and iMac cross-selling).