CIO's say that Apple Laptops are the fastest windows PC's

Implications: 1. The ability to run Windows and macintosh software on the Macbooks creates less of a barrier for Macintosh in corporate america. 2. The iPhone as a corporate solution enhances Apple's position

Analysis: Imagine a group of CIO's standing around the bar before dinner discussing how Apple's new product could be a great addition to end user computing.  And no, this conversation is not referring to conversation in 1984.  I am referring to a conversation that happened in 2008 with a group of CIO's at a monthly gathering of CIO's.  The comments included, " the Macintosh is the fastest Windows PC out there", and "if you put Vmware on the macintosh, you can have both Windows and a Macintosh available at any moment".

Now, I do not know how accurate the technical details of the statements are, but the conversation quickly changed.  The real topic was about finally being able to have the marketing organizations and the sales teams get the computer that they have finally wanted.  And finally, CIO's won't get beat up by always having to say "NO" to Apple's laptops.

Of the twenty five or so CIO's in the room, it turns out that four of them had Macintosh laptops as part of the experiment they were doing at their companies.  And so far, the CIO's had been happy with the results.  And some of the CIO's (including me) were actually using the iPhone.  The talk was about the Enterprize iphone beta and the number of CEO's who wanted (or had in my case) an iPhone.

This was not a conversation about bashing Microsoft.  It was more of a statement about the innovation happening at Apple and what seemed to be a strong coexistence strategy.  I think Apple saw how Blackberry was able to coexist in the Microsoft world and put together a strategy to do the same.  I think we are now beginning to see that strategy unfold.

What is also driving this strategy is the blending of work and home life by the new generation of workers now entering the workplace.  The new generation is expanding the range of technology uses and they demand greater flexibility from their employers.  My daughter is only 22, but she is now the company web master.  She is not an IT person, but she has been using a computer since she was one and a half and has been on Facebook for years.  She knows how to build a creative looking website that attracts people and the tools are now available for a tech savvy user to build a cool website.

CIO's will need to adapt to this new type of user.  I was recently at a CIO conference where this was the topic at almost all of the networking sessions.  And Apple is positioned to capitalize on this trend because their products of late (I-POD, iPhone) have been targeted at the upcoming generation.  It will be interesting to see how this changes the competitive landscape of personal computing in the next five years.  But for now, it looks like the Macintosh is making a comeback.