IBM to Purchase Up to 200,000 Macs, With 50-75% of Employees Ultimately Switching From Lenovo

A year after teaming up with Apple on an enterprise partnership to push iOS devices and apps for business users, IBM is moving forward with plans to rapidly move its own employees onto Apple's platforms, MacRumors has learned.

While IBM announced in an internal memo several months ago that it was planning to purchase up to 50,000 MacBooks for employees by the end of 2015, chief information officer Jeff Smith has revealed in a new internal video released to employees yesterday that he believes IBM could actually end up purchasing 150,000-200,000 Macs annually.


In the video, Smith relates a conversation he had with Apple's chief information officer Niall O'Connor about the possibility of a massive Mac deployment for IBM.

"I'd like to be able to offer these to everyone that can use it. We've got to find a way to make the overall cost the same or lower than PCs to make that happen. Would you be interested in helping me do that, because you guys know these devices", and he said, "No, Jeff, we'd never do that...very secretive, we never allow anyone in. You know, we just don't do that."

And I said, "Well who's your largest corporate customer?" And he said "Well, that customer has got about 25,000 MacBooks a year." And I said, "Well we could be 150-200,000." And he goes "Jeff, that's a great idea! We're gonna come here, you know, next week...you bring your whole team," and that's exactly what happened.

In a separate clip from the video, Smith describes a recent conversation between Tim Cook and IBM vice president Fletcher Previn in which Previn indicated the initiative could see 50–75 percent of IBM employees eventually converting to Macs from the Lenovo ThinkPads that are currently the company standard.

Apple and IBM, former rivals in the PC market, have been working increasingly closely together on both specialized enterprise-focused iOS apps and more recently on HealthKit and ResearchKit data management tools. With so many IBM employees now in line to switch to Macs for their work machines, the stage is setting up for even more collaboration going forward.

Update: Given IBM's workforce of under 400,000 employees, it appears the "200,000" figure cited by Smith could be a total replacement cycle figure rather than an annual purchase amount. Still, based on a three or four year replacement cycle, IBM would easily become Apple's largest corporate customer.

Tag: IBM

Top Rated Comments

oneMadRssn Avatar
113 months ago
If I was offered jobs at Company A that used Macs, and Company B that used Windows; the salary was the similar, similar benefits, the commute was the approximately same, the job description was approximately the same, the company size was approximately same, and the leadership style was approximately the same, I would choose Company A that used Macs.

Even if the difference seems silly, the computer I stare at for 8+ hrs/day is as important as the comfort of my shoes and the comfort of my mattress - the other things I use for 8+ hrs/day.

Plus, I bet the company culture and culture of employees would be better at Company A that used Macs.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jmh600cbr Avatar
113 months ago
this is crazy and awesome all in one. steve jobs must be smiling in heaven or laughing like an evil villain
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gpat Avatar
113 months ago
I could easily see some old school PC fanboys going harakiri over this news.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
conkerbot Avatar
113 months ago
I think IBM and Apple could be a great partnership - far more so than the cool stuff they've done already. I was thinking the other day what Siri would be capable of if Watson was integrated into it and could access even more data (HealthKit data for example). Apple has the customer-facing side locked down, and IBM can help with infrastructure and software needed to improve their cloud services and enterprise offering.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kkar Avatar
113 months ago
Lenovo ThinkPads are junk. The switch is a good move by IBM.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AFEPPL Avatar
113 months ago
If I was offered jobs at Company A that used Macs, and Company B that used Windows; the salary was the similar, similar benefits, the commute was the approximately same, the job description was approximately the same, the company size was approximately same, and the leadership style was approximately the same, I would choose Company A that used Macs.

Even if the difference seems silly, the computer I stare at for 8+ hrs/day is as important as the comfort of my shoes and the comfort of my mattress - the other things I use for 8+ hrs/day.

Plus, I bet the company culture and culture of employees would be better at Company A that used Macs.
Its just a tool. The notebook has little to do with anything else esp culture!
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
iphone reasons to upgrade

Apple Outlines 'Reasons to Upgrade' Your iPhone on New Website

Monday March 25, 2024 12:53 pm PDT by
Apple today added a "Why Upgrade" section to its website, which is aimed at encouraging customers with older iPhones to upgrade to a newer model. The website allows customers to compare the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max, 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max. Each comparison shows what new features someone with an older...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...