First written in April 2008 (and revisited in July 2009) for the eMonarch blog — the managed IT company I ran before founding NSN Management. The question was whether the desktop operating system still mattered. Here is what I argued then, and what it means for the laptop you are about to buy.
What I asked in 2008
In the spring of 2008 two Gartner analysts gave a talk titled “Windows Is Collapsing,” Vista was landing with a thud on business desktops, and BusinessWeek was writing about Apple’s gains in the office. Everyone was arguing about who would win the desktop — Microsoft, Apple, or maybe Linux. A year later Google announced Chrome OS and I admitted I had missed a fourth contender entirely.
But the more I thought about it, the more the argument seemed beside the point. Why do we buy a computer? To get a job done. Period. We buy a tool to do a job — and the tool is not the operating system, it is the application running on it. If I want to communicate with my customers, do I buy Vista or a Mac? Who cares? What I want to know is which application helps me communicate best. Photoshop had just moved online as Photoshop Express; Zoho offered a whole office suite in a browser; Google Apps and Salesforce ran anywhere. My prediction: the desktop OS would become steadily less of a decision as the applications moved to the web, and eventually a business’s IT investment might be little more than a connection to the cloud, some printers, and thin devices with a browser.
Steve Ballmer pushed back in 2009 with “there’s good data that says 50 percent of the time someone’s on their PC, they’re not doing something with the web browser.” My response: what was that number two years ago — 25%? And what will it be in two more?
The scorecard from 2026
| 2008 claim | 2026 verdict |
|---|---|
| The application is the tool; the OS is not the decision | Right. Microsoft 365, accounting, CRM, e-signature, most industry software — all run in a browser or on every platform. A 25-person firm can be Windows, Mac, or mixed and nobody notices, which was not true in 2008. |
| More and more work would move into the browser | Right. Ballmer’s 50% is long gone. For most office roles the browser (plus Teams and Outlook, which are themselves web apps in a wrapper) is where the day happens. |
| Businesses would run on thin devices and a connection | Half right. Chromebooks won schools and some front-line roles; virtual desktops became Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop and are genuinely useful for specific cases. But most businesses still buy a real laptop — because people want one, and because it is easier to secure and manage than the 2008 version of me expected. |
| Windows would “collapse” or the OS wars would have a winner | Wrong (mine and Gartner’s). Windows still runs the large majority of business desktops — not because it won the argument, but because line-of-business applications, device management, and the people who support them all standardized on it. Macs are common and fully supported; Linux stayed on the server; Chrome OS found its niche. Nobody collapsed. |
| “What will we manage when there is nothing left to manage?” | Answered: the device itself became easier, and identity became the desktop. Who you are signed in as — and what that account can reach — matters far more than which OS is under it. |
What this means for the laptop you are about to buy
The 2008 question — Windows or Mac? — is still the first thing people ask us, and it is still mostly the wrong question. Here is the order that actually matters for a 10-to-100 person business:
- Start from the applications. List what each role actually uses. If any of it is Windows-only (a lot of engineering, accounting, and practice-management software still is), that decides it for those people. If it is all browser and Microsoft 365, either platform is fine.
- Then the identity. Every device should sign in with a company account, protected by multi-factor authentication, so access follows the person and can be turned off the day they leave — on any platform.
- Then management and security. Whatever you buy needs to be enrolled, encrypted, patched on a schedule, and running endpoint detection. Modern management tools handle Windows and Mac side by side; the cost of a mixed office is much lower than it was.
- Then the hardware. Business-grade rather than consumer, enough memory for how people actually work, a warranty that matches a 3-to-5 year replacement cycle, and a standard image so a new hire’s machine is ready in an hour — the utility-computing dream from 2008, arriving as a laptop.
- Only then the logo. Personal preference is legitimate. It just belongs last, not first.
Where a thin device or a cloud desktop genuinely fits — a shared front-desk PC, a seasonal workforce, a contractor who needs access to one application, a compliance case where data must never sit on the laptop — we will say so. Where it doesn’t, we won’t make you the test case.
The thing I would say to 2008 me
You were right that the OS stops being the decision. You missed that the account becomes the decision, that security is the reason the device still matters, and that “what will we manage?” had a very full answer. Also, buy the Apple stock.
If you are standardizing devices, weighing Macs against Windows, or wondering whether a cloud desktop would simplify things, book a Discovery Call — we will start from your applications, not from the logo.
Questions Tulsa businesses ask about this
Should my business buy Windows or Mac laptops?
Start from the applications each role uses: if any are Windows-only, that decides it for those people; if everything is browser-based or Microsoft 365, either platform works and a mixed office is easy to manage today. Then identity, management and security, business-grade hardware — and platform preference last.
Do Chromebooks or cloud desktops make sense for a small business?
For specific cases — a shared front-desk PC, seasonal or contract staff who need one application, or compliance situations where data must never sit on the device — yes. For most office roles people still want and get more from a managed laptop.
What matters more than the operating system when buying computers?
The account the device signs in with (company identity with multi-factor authentication so access follows the person), enrollment in management, encryption, scheduled patching, endpoint detection, and a warranty that matches a 3-to-5 year replacement cycle.
Can NSN Management support Macs?
Yes. Modern management tools handle Windows and Mac side by side, and NSN Management supports both — the decision is driven by your applications, not by our tooling.
How often should a small business replace laptops?
Every three to five years, budgeted so roughly a quarter of devices turn over each year rather than all at once. Beyond that they fall out of warranty and, eventually, out of security updates.