Enterprise Desktop Alliance aims to help Macs in IT

Integrating Macs into PC-based networks has always faced uphill battles from IT professionals who look at the Macs as a foreign system. A group of enterprise software companies have formed the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (EDA), with the goal of making Mac integration easier for the IT professionals running enterprise networks. The five companies, Atempo, Centrify , Group Logic, LANrev and Parallels, are combining their specialties under one centralized point of reference, with the goal of providing IT managers easy integration of Macs with similar control, security, and service as their PC workstations.

"Interest in the Mac at large organizations is growing along with Apple's market share," said Bob O'Donnell, Vice President, IDC. "The challenge has been overcoming objections surrounding managing Macs within these corporate environments. "The popularity of the Mac among corporate end-users does not mean that there have to be headaches for IT administrators," said Peter Frankl, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of LANrev.

The EDA solutions aim to make it easier for Mac and Windows users to share files. Users, regardless of platform, can be at the same revision level of Microsoft Office software for easy file exchanges. The EDA also will help administrators extend their current control over file and print access, identity management, client management, disaster recovery, backup and virtualization to Mac units on their network.