IBM has now deployed over 90,000 Macs since joining forces with Apple in July 2014, and it is on track to surpass the 100,000 milestone in early 2017. As its Mac user base rises, the company has found that the need for technical support has fallen.

An update on IBM’s partnership with Apple, which sees it deploying 1,300 Macs every week, was provided at the annual JAMF Nation User Conference on Wednesday. Not only has IBM been pushing Macs, but also over 48,000 iPads and over 81,000 iPhones.

This takes the total number of Apple devices used by IBM to over 217,000, and yet only 50 support staff are required to provide assistance for those devices worldwide. That’s because just 5 percent of Macs end up requiring deskside support, compared to 27 percent of PCs.

In fact, PC users drive twice the number of support calls, IBM says. It’s no wonder, then, that as the number of Macs deployed by IBM rises, its rate of support tickets has fallen.

Back in June 2015 when the program first started, and less than 9,000 Macs had been deployed, around 7.6 percent of users required technical support. As of September 2016, when 85,000 Macs were in use at IBM, only 3.2 percent of users needed assistance.

This is saving IBM a pretty penny. Last October, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the company is saving around $270 in support costs with every Mac it rolls out. Macs might be more expensive to purchase, then, but they’re well worth it over time.

Alongside IBM’s adoption of Mac and iOS devices, the company has been developing enterprise apps for iPhone and iPad under the MobileFirst initiative. It now offers over 100 native apps tailored to serve the needs of multiple industries.

Via: AppleInsider