Apple MacBook computers are priced higher than regular Windows PCs. Despite this, the iPhone maker claims that in the long term, it results in money savings for buyers.
Apple MacBooks more efficient than PCs
During Apple’s earnings call on Tuesday, Apple CFO Luca Maestri said that on every MacBook IBM uses in place of a traditional Windows PC, it saves roughly $270. Maestri says IT support costs are lower, and the residual value of an Apple MacBook is higher compared with that of a traditional Windows PC.
Apple’s CFO said that IBM has already deployed over 30,000 MacBooks and is adding 1,900 new MacBooks on a weekly basis. IBM struck a deal with Apple last year to buy 50,000 MacBooks by the end of 2015.
In this quarter, Apple set a new record for Mac sales, and IBM’s deploying of MacBooks in its offices explains this in part. Apple sold 5.7 million Macs in the most recent quarter, generating revenue of $6.8 billion and representing growth in sales of 3% on YoY basis. MacBooks accounted for the second largest share in Apple’s overall revenue, of course with iPhones being the largest contributor.
More importantly, Apple is enhancing its penetration in the enterprise market. The company’s enterprise sales were $25 billion, representing 40% growth on a YoY basis, said CEO Tim Cook. “Enterprise business is not to be underestimated. Everywhere I look, I see significant opportunity,” Cook said.
Saving on help desk salaries
This is not the first time when Apple and IBM are talking about the higher efficiency of a MacBook over a PC. At the 2015 JAMF Nation User Conference, IBM VP Fletcher Previn said only 5% of IBM employees using MacBooks sought help from the IT help desk compared to 40% of PC users needing help. Previn said that IBM is making and saving money on every Mac it is buying.
IBM has 24 staff members at the help desk, which amounts to one for every 5,375 employees. Gartner recommends appointing one support desk person on every 70 users. Thus, IBM is saving money on the salaries it would have paid to the appointed people based on Gartner ratios if it made use of PCs. Also queries are solved relatively faster, as around 99% of Mac queries are resolved on the first call, Previn said.
