Forrester Says IT Should Support iPhones

[Vincent Ferrari]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/04/13/forrester-top-4-reasons-it-should-support-the-iphone/' target='_blank'>http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.co...ort-the-iphone/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"In the early days of Apple's (AAPL) iPhone, when corporate IT managers were taking their first close look at the device (and wondering whether it would find a place in their organizations alongside Research in Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry), few documents were more influential than the Forrester Research report entitled "The iPhone Is Not Meant For Enterprises.""</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1239717499.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>This report ought to generate howls of outrage and a contention that Forrester doesn't know what they're talking about, unlike when they said the iPhone wasn't right for businesses.&nbsp; The reasons, as listed, are things iPhone owners have known since day one.&nbsp; Employees like them (obviously), collaboration is easier (I'm not 100% sure about that one, but they do mean internet collaboration; I'm guessing site deployment and web app testing in this case), they need less hand holding (this is definitely true; most iPhone folks are self sufficient or help each other), and they can be cheaper in the long-run (All I know is that my BlackBerry is significantly more expensive on a monthly basis than my iPhone is).</p><p>Of course, no $750 report (no, I'm not kidding) is complete without caveats and there are a few of those, too, including the lack of a full VPN solution, lack of cut and paste, etc., but the article notes that a lot of the quibbling little issues should be fixed in 3.0; something we're all waiting for.</p><p>Overall, I see no reason to keep anything out of IT or the enterprise.&nbsp; As long as expectations are clearly set with those that go outside the prescribed equipment, nothing should be too big a problem to handle.&nbsp; We have iPhones, G1's, and BlackBerry handhelds in our enterprise and we've set the users' expectations for what they'll get and what they have to get on their own.&nbsp; Its made the process relatively smooth since day one.</p>

[emuelle1]

I think most iPhone users could have saved the $750. I just got my iPhone last week after using Windows Mobile for years, and I'm amazed by it. I can't see any reason why the iPhone wouldn't be suitable for business use. About the only thing currently missing is tethering. I guess some larger shops are afraid of it because they can't lock it down like they can other devices, but it should be able to perform most business tasks easily.

[The Yaz]

My company has thwarted efforts to make the iPhone an acceptable choice for remote email. Until more is done by Apple to increase the phone's security, I know our IT department is not going to accept it.

Here's a link to an interesting article on this topic:

iPhone Hacking: Lessons from the Front Line (http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=15015&news=Apple+iPhone+Hacking)



Steve<O:p</O:p

[emuelle1]

I have a passcode set on mine, and there is a setting to wipe the device if the code is entered incorrectly 10 times. I think the security most IT departments want is the ability to stop people from installing anything on it, or changing certain settings.