In a note to clients — as reported by “AppleInsider” (http://www.appleinsider.com) — Needham & Company analyst Charles Wolf says Mac business sales grew 50.9% at the end of 2011, outpacing Apple’s market leading overall growth in Mac sales.

He adds that that sales in the business market represented 20.5% of total Mac sales in the December quarter. However, business sales accounted for 34.9% of year-over-year total shipment growth for the Mac platform.

“AppleInsider” says Apple has 2.9% of total business computer sales worldwide, more than double its share of 1.3% in the first quarter of 2010. However, Apple’s presence in the enterprise is even greater in the U.S., hitting 5.8% in the December quarter, up from 3.1% in the first quarter of 2010.