iPhone - Not a business device - at least not yet
Category iPhoneBookmark :
While the iPhone looks really cool it just is not a business device - at least not yet.
I'm hanging onto my BlackBerry (probably forever).
However I see potential in the device and at iEnterprises we are awaiting the SDK so we can perhaps build a Mobile Edge client on the device.
Read more for my detailed iPhone technology review and overview.
Read more to see my iPhone technology review.
“Apple may be the cowboy of cool consumer technology, but when it comes to the enterprise, this version of the iPhone still lacks functionalities that help businesses get their job done. However, with the release of SDK next year, it opens tremendous opportunities for third party integrators—and iPhone will be a force to reckoned with in the mobile enterprise world.
Here’s why this version of the iPhone won’t appease the enterprise now.
iPhone doesn’t connect to existing company-wide applications/technology: Companies have already put a lot of money into the RIM devices and other functionality beyond your bare basic email and making phone calls. They also don’t want to view wireless investments in a vacuum. They think—what else can I do with the BlackBerry? How can I make it work with all the other enterprise applications I have? How can I get my sales information or get alerts about urgent customer issues? As of yet, iPhone does not have this versatility. iPhone’s SDK app could change this.
Online browsers are great for the consumer, but offline access is a must for the enterprise: Business users need true online PLUS offline access that comes with a thick client server. With a thick client server, you have offline access and can get information anywhere—in a tunnel, when you don’t have coverage, etc. It also means faster performance as you don’t have to wait endlessly for a connection or get bounced off. Thick client server means faster uploading of information.
The enterprise needs Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook push email: This is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome for the iPhone. Business users want a mobile device to get their corporate email—and all that buzzing that goes with it. iPhone said it could use Outlook Web Access for synchronization, but that is insufficient for the enterprise and lacks calendaring capabilities and immediate access. Although iPhone offers POP email functionality it is insecure and it is not like the Push technology that business users enjoy with BlackBerry and other technologies.
Security – iPhone offers little or no security – This perhaps is the single most compelling reason that corporate IT groups will keep the device out of the enterprise. POP email is notoriously insecure and it opens the enterprise up to other attacks. The addition of the SDK in 2008 however may provide an opportunity for third party developers to offer a more secure environment VIA the use of third party encryption technology.
Eventually, the buyer will purchase what works for them in both their “Personal and Business Worlds” These two worlds are not mutually exclusive. Buyers then ask: where is the cross-over, which device adequately accommodates both worlds and if one device falls short—will the consumer consider it worth his time and money to pick up a second device? Maybe. Apple has a history of finding very specific niches and creating a mass following. This is great for all makers of mobile devices and mobile applications as it means main stream adoption. My feeling is that while the iPhone has nifty features and is sexy, for now, it’s still going to be a bumpier ride on the business side and won’t be able to handle the heavier loads of the enterprise. The BlackBerry has done that, and does it tremendously well. But if iPhone brings on SDK within the next few months, and the sales and marketing muscle that it had demonstrated with the Mac and iPod, then it surely will be force to be reckoned with.”