Enterprise users aren't immune to the attractions of the Mac, with analyst Benjamin Gray of Forrester Research reporting that Mac adoption among business users has QUADRUPLED since 2006.

This essentially means Mac usage jumped from 1.1% in October 2006 to 3.6% a year later and to 4.5% in June 2007.

Those stats are extremely significant, causing the analyst to say (as detailed by eWeek), "Mac continues its slow gain among Forrester's clients, even without an enterprise strategy. Apple's singular focus on user experience has resulted in some success in the enterprise—without even trying to break into the market."

These findings are included within a newly-published Forrester Research report, "Corporate Desktop Operating System Trends, Q4 2007 Through Q2 2008: Windows Vista Deployments Are Finally Ramping Up, While Mac Continues Its Slow March on the Enterprise."

Lending weight to these claims is that these numbers aren't simply plucked from empty air, the analysts surveyed more than 50,000 enterprise end users from 2,500 organizations to put together its data.

While Apple's share remains small in comparison with Windows in the enterprise (94.9%in June), every percentage of the market equates to significant sales for Apple.

The iPhone and iPod halos help boost visibility and sales, "Strong iPod branding and sales have led to greater consumer sales of Apple PCs; in turn, this has lured enthusiasts and small workgroups with supple IT departments beyond the standard domain of design and media."

Apple could attract wider sales by reducing prices and liberalising its controls over Mac repair, upgrade and servicing, the report indicates.

Clearly, there's more growth ahead. One in three Fortune 500 companies are already exploring iPhone software development, meaning Apple has at least put a calling card in place within relevant departments at some of the world's largest enterprise users.

And with Apple widely predicted to reveal three million Mac sales within the current quarter, we see a wider upside to the future of Mac in the enterprise...