Thank You, MacAdmins 2026: What We Heard from the Mac Admin Community

Another MacAdmins is in the books, and once again it delivered exactly what makes the event worth attending.

The sessions were packed, hallway conversations often lasted longer than scheduled meetings, and there was no shortage of practical discussions about managing Macs in real enterprise environments.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Parallels Desktop booth, joined our session, or took a few minutes to share what your team is working through. Those conversations are one of the most valuable parts of the week because they reveal where Mac management is headed long before it shows up in analyst reports.

One thing became clear after a few days of talking with customers, partners, and fellow Mac admins: the Mac has become the standard device for many employees, but Windows applications haven't disappeared. IT teams are looking for practical ways to support both.

What Stood Out This Year

No two organizations manage Macs the same way, but several conversations kept coming up throughout the conference.

1. Macs are winning new workloads
A few years ago, many IT teams were still deciding where Apple silicon fit into their strategy. Those conversations have changed. This year, most discussions assumed Macs were already part of the standard endpoint strategy. The questions shifted from whether employees should receive Macs to how to support specialized software, developer workflows, and business applications that still require Windows. For many organizations, that means finding a way to support both operating systems without asking users to carry two computers. 

2. Simplicity matters more than ever
IT teams aren't looking to add another management platform unless it solves a real problem. Many attendees described the same challenge: support more users, manage more devices, and do it with roughly the same number of administrators. That naturally leads to conversations about reducing infrastructure, simplifying deployment, and giving users access to Windows applications without making the environment harder to manage.

3. Windows applications still have a place
While the applications change from company to company, the challenge doesn't. Engineering teams still rely on Windows-only CAD software. Financial organizations continue using specialized line-of-business applications. Developers often need Windows for testing. Other teams depend on software that was never built for macOS. Mac adoption changes how organizations choose to meet these requirements.

Our Session: Delivering Windows Apps the Mac-Native Way

Our session focused on a question we hear frequently:

Can Mac users access Windows applications without feeling like they're working inside Windows?

We explored how many organizations are moving beyond simply running Windows on a Mac. Instead, they're looking for ways to deliver the Windows applications employees need while preserving the macOS experience they've standardized on.

The discussion covered practical topics that many IT teams are working through today, including how to publish Windows applications without exposing users to the Windows desktop, simplify application deployment, reduce day-to-day management through centralized administration, and continue supporting legacy and proprietary Windows software on modern Macs.

Another theme throughout the session was user experience. Employees want access to the applications they need without changing how they work, while IT teams need to maintain security, control, and consistent management across their environments.

As Mac deployments continue to grow, those priorities aren't going away. Organizations still depend on many Windows applications, but they're looking for ways to deliver them that feel natural on macOS. That's the challenge Parallels Desktop Enterprise is designed to help solve.

Thank You to Our Partners

MacAdmins has always been a community event, and it was great spending time alongside partners who help organizations deploy and manage Macs every day.

SHI International

SHI International shared practical insight into supporting enterprise Mac deployments while ensuring users continue to have access to the Windows applications their organizations depend on.

Mac Business Solutions

Mac Business Solutions demonstrated how organizations can simplify Mac deployments while giving employees access to both macOS and Windows applications without unnecessary complexity.

Great Conversations at the Booth

One of the best parts of MacAdmins is the chance to step away from presentations and have real conversations with the people managing Apple devices every day.

Throughout the week, we spoke with hundreds of Mac administrators, IT leaders, engineers, and partners. While every environment is different, many of the same challenges came up again and again.

Some teams were looking for better ways to support business-critical Windows applications on Macs. Others were focused on standardizing developer environments across Apple silicon, simplifying enterprise deployments, or finding alternatives to expanding their VDI infrastructure. We also heard from organizations trying to improve the end-user experience without creating more work for IT, while still providing secure access to legacy and proprietary Windows applications.

What stood out was how many organizations are working toward the same goal: giving employees the Mac experience they expect while keeping the Windows applications their business still relies on readily available. Just as important, they want to do it without adding unnecessary infrastructure or management overhead.

Let's Keep the Conversation Going

If we didn't have the chance to meet in State College, we'd still like to hear about your environment.

Maybe you're evaluating how to support Windows applications on Macs. Maybe you're looking at alternatives to expanding your VDI footprint. Or maybe you're planning your next hardware refresh and trying to decide how Windows fits into it.

Those are the kinds of conversations we have every day.