The enterprise opportunity Apple is hiding from

Basically, what was being asked of Apple was a series of phone calls. The client was aware they'd be blazing new territory, but they were willing to be a pioneer and bet big on Macs and the Mac OS in their enterprise.

"There was no appetite at all from Apple. I would say ambivalence was probably the best word," says the partner. "They were very firm about what their core business was. They're fine with us pursuing the market, but they're not going to help."

In the end, the partner sold the client PCs so they kept the customer, but it was a lost enterprise opportunity to Apple, and is an emblematic example of an opportunity the company seems willing to leave untapped.