Business Club

Apple and small businesses have an interesting link. Even though Apple has apparently avoided out of the way, lost in the market for food companies, it certainly has its fans

And it’s not just in traditional sectors such as Mac-friendly graphic design or -. For each design house that all Macs are a number of dental practices that Mac for receptions and other public places.

Always choose to be Steve Jobs, the focus was on the consumer. And is focused by the consumer that Apple made the trip in business. Mac to get used too often in small businesses because entrepreneurs either Macs lived in their home and wants the same experience at work, or because they want good-looking machines in public places. But the new CEO Tim Cook is the guy of operations. Executions focus behind large hairy Jobs, bold goals. The steak sizzles behind Jobs. The vanilla ice cream on chocolate cake … Jobs Well, you know. Tim Cook, Apple could build a very nice niche in the small business world with a few small changes, especially at a time when the HP Personal Systems Group, a leader in the SMB market with an uncertainty (better, if ) to come. Here are seven things Tim Cook can do to make the value proposition of Apple for small entrepreneurs themselves stronger.1 Keep doing what you are right

Tim Cook, Apple CEOLet Let’s be clear – there is no reason for the baby with the bath water. Companies that make Macs, despite the initial higher cost, compatibility issues and challenges of a variety of other topics. So there is no need for Apple to make a dramatic turn away from its current product line. Apple does not need – and will absolutely not -. Macs all over the market at the expense of valuable and enviable margins

And the entrepreneurs who will buy Macs does not want cheap hunks of plastic, like they just hit an Apple logo as part of this place an integrated design and beautiful. Apple does not need to be in the race to the bottom to be more successful in the space of small businesses. But there are some things they have.

2 is to refine. Apple Store – Serious Business

Apple has had some successes with its Apple Store retail locations, the introduction of specialized sales teams and sales programs, such as joint venture to put the company up and running with a new Mac and contributes as a continuous support. However, there is a strange paradox. In an interview with a local Apple dealer on the impact of a newly opened Apple store business, he hit me with something close to the famous quote by Yankee legend Yogi Berra – when it comes of the economy, “No one’s gone, it is too full”

It seems that even if my company’s local distributor consumers as a result of people flocking to the hot new Apple had suffered, it was actually gaining ground with local entrepreneurs the hearing. Buzz on Apple went to see what it was, but were in the crowded stores and the development of consumption of the Apple stores.

Small business owners are busy people, and play honestly do not have time for 14 years in Photo Booth for a chance to judge whether the MacBook Air, the right product or not. This is probably a piece of trim dedicated “office hours” for Apple to have store, but a little late to the information sessions in the evening or mid-day “Luncheon” for questions small business in a less chaotic environment would be to ask how a long way to go Macs more accessible. 3 Kiss the canal. This time, really. If Apple and small businesses historically have an interesting relationship, independent Apple resellers in the past have had a love / hate relationship. Many local value-added resellers (VARs) to continue to use Apple products. But most do so only because they have always done, because they truly believe in the products or the products because their customers want. It is safe to say that none of them do so because Apple makes it easy and profitable for dealers to do business with them – because they never. And relations were further strained during the last decade, as Apple has become more directly to a consumer society, and became its retail operations to the main road on the market. And it’s good for the consumer market. Between online and brick and mortar Apple Store can answer almost any condition can the consumer. Small businesses are not consumers. To truly meet the needs of small business, you must be able to speak their language and to live where they live. Court to open an Apple store on every corner in every small town across the country, is the best way for Apple to do this to show some humility and make it easier for VARs to offer products independent Apple. This means it can be a little less Byzantine and remain an Apple reseller, and to give resellers the opportunity, fair return on the sale of Apple to do. VAR are used to produce thin margins on hardware and catches up with better services. But now, it is often difficult for them, Apple’s gear for a price that is slightly better than they will buy from the Apple Store itself to us, no price at all possible.The change of VAR to get serious about Apple and if Apple wants to move in the space of small businesses, it needs the VAR community – people who know their customers for small businesses and their environments – to create solutions to start or belong to wrap the Apple hardware. and software

And this kind of relations should be cooks Lane – he spent much of his early career running a business computer dealer, and a long stay in personal computers from IBM , which built itself into a central SMB mainly through its distribution partnerships.

4th Insanely software for business

Many of the Mac owners, the experience is a powerful and easy to use comes with the box. Applications such as iPhoto and iMovie make it easy to do the basics of photo and video editing and management, while consumer applications such as iDVD and GarageBand are little more creativity.

But where is iBusiness? OK, so there’s iWork. But it’s just a productivity suite that provides a basis different perspective on Microsoft Office. But many companies are already investing in office and decide to stay, even if they are going Mac. where Apple may have some real value for SMB users to add, depends on some important business applications that the smallest firms. Of course, there are applications such as QuickBooks for Mac available on, but nothing that gives Apple the level of integration and fit and finish on them. No one is suggesting Apple should be a SAP, Oracle or IBM, but by carefully selecting an enterprise application and Apple’s legendary put some polish on it, it can run the same software for envy companies, the PC user get to create “switching” to Mac iPhoto and iMovie.5 Be clear

Whether through an internal IT staff, the director of the office, or from an external VAR or managed service provider partners, as good as anything on a network of small businesses can be remotely controlled to be monitored, maintained and managed. Some of this can be done easily with software Apple Screen Sharing in Snow Leopard and Lion. But to really focus on business matters, a more sophisticated version of Screen Sharing or Apple Remote Desktop for Enterprise would be in order, preferably one that is easily hung in the company (or partner ) Remote tool panel service of choice.

Steve Jobs since the introduction of Mac OS X must be to obtain a very good job of Apple “think different” distinctive features, while eliminating the conflicts and challenges in working with Macs in IT environments heterogeneous performed. Makes it clear that Macs can just as easily be handled in a business environment that Windows computers can go a long way.6th. Play Up Boot Camp and virtualization

As far Apple can aspire to a world where every computer has a fruit of light behind the screen, the fact remains that Windows for more than 90 percent of the market. Training and investment in Windows, applications and infrastructure can be a show-stopper when it comes to the introduction of a Mac in the enterprise.

Yes, this is a variety of options to run Windows applications on a Mac, by creating a separate partition for Boot Camp on Mac and Windows applications seamlessly side by side with Parallels or VMWare Fusion office. And there was a time when Apple trumpeted these skills. But today, it is hard to find hiding deep links to these options in the copy of Apple marketing, much less front and center of its Mac-based messaging. Apple would be well served to make it clear that the jump to Mac is not a big fear, something all-or-nothing. 7 Ask companies! This is done by no means a complete list of all things Apple, it can be more competitive player in the business sector. Apple consumers know this. And we feel it is well known large companies because it is one itself. But Apple is really “get” Small Business? This is an area where Apple, especially in was calm, cool and listen analytically Tim Cook, and many do not opened his mouth to ask questions.Apple has a legendary ability to make, questions, listen to the answers and offer products, which is exactly what consumers want, even if it is not what they mean. If this is the same capacity, the world of small business can bring, it can be a great player in this space tag cloud.