Apple’s role in the enterprise is evolving, and new research from MacStadium highlights just how far it has come. In a survey of U.S. CIOs conducted by Censuswide for MacStadium, Macs emerged as a core platform for AI adoption. Seventy-three percent of respondents said AI processing is the top use case for Macs in their organizations, surpassing areas like app development and testing.
Ken Tacelli, CEO of MacStadium, said, “The findings confirm what we’re seeing with our customers every day: Apple is no longer just for developers. Macs are powering AI workloads, executive teams, creative functions and enterprise-wide workflows.”
The survey included 300 CIOs and found that Apple accounts for an average of 63 percent of enterprise endpoints. Nearly all respondents, 96 percent, expect Mac investments to grow over the next two years, while 99 percent consider Apple technologies important to their IT strategies. More than one in five called them mission-critical.
Tacelli added, “As organizations accelerate their cloud strategies, Apple infrastructure has become an essential, enterprise-ready component of IT environments. MacStadium is proud to be at the center of this shift.”
AI adoption is leading the charge. Seventy-three percent of CIOs reported using Macs for AI workloads, compared with 68 percent for iOS and macOS development and 61 percent for build, test, and deploy workflows. CIOs also noted improved dev and test performance, higher employee satisfaction, and better integration with iOS and iPadOS as benefits of Apple hardware.
Cloud adoption is another driver. Ninety-seven percent of CIOs said their organizations run Mac infrastructure in the cloud through providers such as MacStadium and AWS EC2 Mac, and 77 percent reported heavy reliance on this model. This allows enterprises to scale securely while keeping AI workloads private and energy efficient.
Other findings include a 93 percent increase in Apple device usage over the past two years, 45 percent of CIOs viewing Macs as a strategic investment, and 65 percent saying macOS is easier to manage than Windows or Linux. Nearly all respondents said they would expand adoption further if stronger enterprise-grade management tools became available.
The overall takeaway is clear: Macs are no longer confined to creative departments or developer workflows. They are becoming a trusted backbone for enterprise IT strategies, with AI at the center of that momentum.
