Cormac O’Reilly ponders on how corporate users and IT departments are likely to react on the recent Apple announcement of official support for Windows XP. Will corporate IT departments switch to Intel-based Macs faster than you can say “Boot Camp?”

… My advice would be to actually give people the choice. There are unlikely to be support issues, especially with Apple’s long-term commitment to support dual Windows and Mac OS. And few extra cost issues. I think we are on the cusp of businesses allowing folks to buy and own their own business PCs and funding them through the expense system. The new Apple world is the perfect reason to accommodate this, and gradually take companies out of PC ownership. You own your own calculator and mobile phone – PC ownership is a natural evolution. And the timing is perfect, especially as Microsoft will be pushing a wholesale move to its much delayed and maligned Windows Vista.

The big question basically boils down to need. For now, it seems that corporate users would find it a bad idea to switch company computers to Apple, even if it were to be a platform where all kinds of OSes–whether Windows or Mac OS or even Linux–would work. It’s simply too expensive an activity to undertake, especially with large companies that have large fleets of PCs. But as for personal purchases, that’s another thing altogether. Maybe this is the right time to go ahead and get your own Mac.

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