14 DAY TRIAL // The educational market has always been an important one for Apple, not only because of the potential to sell its computers, but also because of exposure and mindshare. Being exposed to Windows based PCs at the workplace is almost a certainty; so, for many people, the only real exposure to Macs and OS X is in school. This is one opportunity for them to see that Macs are a viable alternative to PCs that Apple simply cannot afford to miss.
Fortunately, after letting the educational market slip through its fingers in the past, Apple is now making a serious comeback, still retaining the number one spot in West European education market. According to the latest market share figures from Gartner, the Cupertino Company once again took the first place in Western Europe in the first-quarter, with 17.3 per cent of the education market (all CPUs including servers) and 18.4 per cent share in the combined desktop and notebook markets. Apple also continues to gain market share in the UK, where it is the second biggest vendor in terms of desktop and overall sales, a consolidation of Apple's continuing success within Europe's education sector.
Apple overtook Dell in terms of UK education market share last October, and claimed first place in European education sales in February last year. Apple market share in the UK education market during the fourth quarter of 2005 was 12.5 per cent. Apple's education market share in Western Europe in 2005 was 15.2 per cent, relegating Dell, with 14.7 per cent, to second place.
Apple's machines have long enjoyed a good reputation of stability and extremely low total cost of ownership that is appealing to schools. The security of OS X coupled with the lack of viruses and malware have also been strong selling points for the company.