Companies that deploy Macs in production environments need to assess what the new platform means for their workforce. While Apple believes few glitches will occur as it moves macOS to new silicon, disruptions could still occur.
Apple’s announced move to its own ARM-based processors to power upcoming Mac computers beginning in 2021 makes sense. The company can rationalize its environment across desktops, tablets and smartphones, and also potentially increase its margins by building its own chips (something that would not make sense if it did not have the massive volumes it has in smartphone processors).
But the move is not necessarily a fully compatible one for users of all applications – especially enterprise apps that may need a rewrite to operate effectively.
This means companies that deploy Macs in production environments need to decide what the new platform will mean for powering their workforce. While Apple believes few glitches will crop up as it moves macOS to new silicon – and no doubt will do all it can to make that a reality – there is a good possibility disruptions could still occur.
What should enterprises evaluate to limit any such disruptions?
Many high-performance apps are optimized at the OS level or potentially even below at the base hardware level. This is especially true of compute-intensive and graphics-intensive apps, but also ones that have large data bases they need to work with.
As Apple moves to a new chip, it must also rewrite its desktop OS for the new platform, something it’s begun with this year’s release of macOS Big Sur. This could potentially break any specialized or customized software running on the current version.
