IT professionals think Apple devices are easier to manage, according to new survey

A recent survey has found that your IT department thinks a Mac is more manageable than a PC or Chromebook.

According to a survey of IT professionals, Macs and iOS devices are easier to manage when it comes to security, device configuration, software deployment, and support. Of those surveyed, 62 percent said the Mac is as easy or easier to deploy than PC, and 93 percent said it’s as easy or easier to deploy an iPhone or iPad over another device.

While most IT professionals found Apple’s products easier to manage overall, that was not the case when it comes to Mac integration. Only 36 percent of IT professionals claimed that it was easy or easier to integrate Macs into other environments. The survey is based on responses from 300 IT professionals and was commissioned by Jamf, the software management firm that focuses solely on Apple devices.

In addition, the survey found that a whopping 99 percent of companies have iOS devices in use, while 90 percent use Macs. Jamf speculates that Apple’s penetration in enterprise is being fueled by device choice programs, with user preference leaning towards Apple devices.

According to the survey, 71 percent of companies offered employees a choice between an iPhone, an Android device, or a Windows phone, while 44 percent offered them their choice between a Mac or PC. Employees’ use of Apple devices also went up in 2016, with 76 percent of companies seeing an increase in iOS adoption and 74 percent seeing an increase in Mac adoption.

Jamf cites IBM as an example of a device choice program that led to the world’s largest Mac deployment for enterprise. Since 2015, IBM has deployed almost 100,000 Macs. According to IBM’s internal survey, 73 percent of its employees choose a Mac as their next computer.

User preference was also a key factor driving adoption of Apple products in education, according to the survey. Ninety percent of K-12 schools use iPads, and 70 percent use Mac. In higher education, 94 percent have iOS users and 80 percent use Mac, the survey found.

“Similar to the enterprise, the education sector agrees that Mac and iPad are easier to manage than other devices,” read the press release.

These findings may seem to counter an earlier report that found a decrease in shipments of Apple products to K-12 schools. That report, however, was based on new shipments, not already installed products. So, while more Chromebooks may have shipped to schools in 2016, it’s possible that Macs still account for a higher percentage of laptops installed in classrooms.

Why this matters: Despite just recently starting to lose ground to Google, Apple’s grip on education is not necessarily loosening. After all, it was just in 2013 when nearly half of all products shipped to classrooms came from Apple. And those products have not yet been replaced by Chromebooks or Windows tablets, at least according to the Jamf survey.