Analyst: One million+ Switchers in 2005

Needham & Co. analyst Charles Wolf said today that the number of people switching from the Windows platform to the Mac is higher than he had previously anticipated. He says the increase is due to the popularity of the iPod and because of the epidemic of malware, spyware, and viruses affecting the Windows platform lately.

"If we assume that all of the growth in Mac shipments during the past three quarters resulted from Windows users purchasing a Mac, then purchases by Windows users exceeded one million," the analyst said. "Indeed, the number of Windows users purchasing Macs in 2005 could easily exceed our forecast of 1.3 million switchers in 2006."

This trend is in line with what I've seen here in NYC. The Apple Store in SOHO is so successful, they're building a second one. The number of Macintosh-based consulting shops is growing also, with quite a few around now that are new to me. Traditional PC-based consulting companies are also seeing the trend and are building Mac departments. Just watch the Craiglist postings for a few months, or monitor Monster.com for job openings and you'll see what I've been seeing. For the qualified candidate, there's plenty of work in the Macintosh community in NYC. I have to imagine the same is true in other communities. What have your experiences been?