Picture the scene: many companies have gathered in a room and decided to ditch Microsoft’s services. That is fiction, but over the last couple of days, Delta Airlines and General Electric have switched to Apple. A report suggested Walmart was about to do the same, but the retailer has released a statement denying that is the case.
AppleInsider originally claimed the company will stop using Windows 10 PCs and push employees to use Macs. This would have been a big loss for Microsoft. Walmart is one of the biggest companies in the world and 100,000 employees would have ditched Windows.
The initial report suggested Walmart made the announcement at the Kamf Nation User Conference. The world’s largest Apple-oriented IT event would be a good place for such a reveal. However, the company released a statement denying it is moving to Mac.
“Walmart offers a diverse set of tools to create the best digital experience for our associates so they can get their jobs done effectively,” Joe Park, senior director of Associate Digital Experience at Walmart, said in a statement. “We are always evaluating options, but at this time no program has been rolled out.”
So, it is not happening, but there is a clear ominous tone to the statement. Indeed, at the event, the company’s Technical Expert Miles Leacey said Windows PCs cause 60% of all support issues, while it is 40% on Macs.
In its denial statement, Walmart also talked about the cost of ownership and suggests it will migrate to Mac eventually:
“We looked at TCO [total cost of ownership] for our technology,” Leacy said. “The cost of deploying and securing [a Mac] at this point is a lot cheaper than supporting a Windows box — it just makes good business sense.”
Microsoft Exodus?
Earlier this week, Delta Air Lines announced it is dropping Windows phone in favor of iOS. In doing so, the company ended a four-year relationship with Microsoft. Delta is moving 19,000 people to Apple’s platform, which makes sense considering Microsoft has turned its back on Windows 10 Mobile.
General Electric has also dropped Windows and will move 330,000 employees to Mac. John Flannery, Chairman and CEO of GE, said:
“The partnership between Apple and GE is providing developers with the tools to make their own powerful industrial IoT apps. Our customers increasingly need to arm their workforces through mobility. Working together, GE and Apple are giving industrial companies access to powerful apps that help them tap into the predictive data and analytics of Predix right on their iPhone or iPad.”
