It's very tempting to use third-party Windows tools for the Mac. Chances are you already own the optional Mac feature in, say, an existing Windows desktop management suite. Just flip the switch, right? The promise of a single tool that manages both Windows and Mac platforms and delivers a single view can be enticing but may run into problems, say Mac engineers. Getting good enterprise-class support for Mac features from Windows developers can be problematic at times, too, they say.

Nightmare No. 3: Small Mac vendors struggle with enterprise support

Given poor Mac options in many Windows management suites, Mac pros often turn to Mac-only management tools. For the most part, the tools work well. The problem comes when these small Mac vendors that are mostly geared toward small Mac shops need to provide enterprise-class support.

These vendors might take a day to respond to a support query. Rarely will the enterprise Mac engineer talk to the same support technician twice, and so the engineer will have to rehash his history, environment and current problem. This just doesn't work in an enterprise IT setting.

Most Mac vendors don't have technical account managers dedicated to enterprise clients; they simply don't have the resources or enough enterprise customers to justify the cost. Yet technical account managers who know a customer's environment inside and out are a staple of enterprise-class support.