Apple Mac perceived as easier to use, more secure than Windows among IT departments

Credit: Andrew O'Hara, AppleInsider

Enterprise users and IT departments view Apple macOS devices as much more secure than their non-Mac counterparts, a new survey claims.

Apple mobile device management (MDM) company Jamf carried out the study along with market research firm Vanson Bourne for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The two organizations surveyed 1,500 information security and IT professionals on device usage, challenges, and other topics at their workplaces.

According to the survey, there appears to be a trend toward Mac devices — both at firms currently using Macs and those that predominantly use non-Mac computers. Among respondents, 74% of predominantly Mac users said they will increase the count of Apple computers at their organizations. Among predominantly non-Mac users, that percentage was 65%.

More than three quarters of organizations surveyed, 77%, said they viewed the Mac as the most secure device out of the box. That result was from both Mac and non-Mac companies, and 79% of Mac-using firms said the perceived security of macOS influenced their purchasing decision. Even 57% of predominantly non-Mac organizations said that the Mac's security reputation affected purchasing decisions.

And even once the Mac devices are bought and set up, respondents said that user satisfaction with Apple devices tended to be higher.

With all baked-in security tools active, 71% of both non-Mac and Mac organizations said they had better user satisfaction with the Mac. Additionally, 84% said they'd choose Mac if every individual at their company had to use the same device.

As Jamf points out, the switch to remote work during the coronavirus global health crisis has placed a greater emphasis on device security as more users work on home networks and their own hardware.

Nearly all of the organizations surveyed, 96% of them, said that they will prioritize spending on security software in the future. On the other hand, despite lingering security concerns, Mac-using organizations tend to roll out security patches 30% faster than non-Mac groups. There is still a four-day average from release to rollout for Mac-based security fixes.