IBM Finds Its Mac Users to Be More Productive Than PC Users

Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2019/11/12/ibm-finds-its-mac-users-to-be-more-productive-than-pc-users/

In an ironic historical twist, IBM has one of the largest Mac installations in the world, and the company has now released research showing that its Mac users score higher on performance reviews, close larger sales, and are less likely to leave the company than its Windows users. But be careful what you conclusions you draw from those results.

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A perfect example of numerous confounding factors in a “survey”. Thinking back to my early employment days (well before PCs - we had a single line display HP desktop [filling] computer) I suspect that the type of office manager has a lot to do with these results. The managers who chose a particular computer ecosystem might also tend to recruit employees who are more productive and more computer literate. I like to think I was one of those employees :slight_smile:

As I said in the article, I don’t have any quibble with IBM’s numbers or methodology. Fletcher Previn said they had data scientists working on it, with the data coming from internal HR and support databases.

The hard part is teasing out why the Mac users did so much better.

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No teasing required.

They chose Macs - ergo……

David

I think it’s the Mac, not the person. A Mac just works better and makes you feel happier and more competent.

I think I can say that because I use both. Macs at home, a PC at work. And as a software developer, I know my way around on both platforms. Both have their strengths and weaknesses, but I do occasionally need help-desk support for the PC, never for the Mac, which pretty much confirms one part of the results IBM found.

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