CIO magazine recounts a Forrester Research report from last week on "The iPhone is Not Meant for Enterprises," a $280 piece of critical business intelligence that tells IT departments something they a) wanted to hear and b) already knew: the iPhone is not a Blackberry (quel suprise!). Without key features such as remote kill, data encryption, and full Exchange support, Forrester says the iPhone is DOA in BigCo environments; despite this, IT folk need a strategy for handling the iPhones that make their touchable way in the revolving doors.Nobody expects IT to embrace the iPhone with both arms, but the tale of the numbers suggests that the warmth of the welcome may be irrelevant: the iPhone is here in a big way. With sales data suggesting that the iPhone has passed Windows Mobile in share, vendors like Visto promising full Exchange integration, and an SDK around the corner for blessed development, corporate technologists may have to settle for a policy of benign discontent as the shiny pretty things invade.
Update: Some well-phrased and funny debunking of Forrester's stance by the Macalope and John Welch.
[via Macworld]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-17-2007 @ 2:10PM
kshackelford said...
The comments are pretty true & funny on their site about this article. The flame throwers are out :P Im kinda sick of hearing so called "expert" opinions on like that.
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12-17-2007 @ 2:48PM
starkruzr said...
Give it 6 months and then we'll see what they say. We already know Apple is hiring iPhone developers for Exchange interoperability.
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12-17-2007 @ 2:54PM
Mike said...
Hopefully Apple will be smart and follow Nokia's lead in licensing Blackberry software for use on the iPhone. That's the main reason I purchased a Nokia E61 awhile back... and the main thing that's preventing me from purchasing an iPhone.
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12-17-2007 @ 3:00PM
akatsuki said...
Without a keyboard, they will never really break into the hardcore blackberry crowd. I really want one, as do many of the people I work with, but they should add a slide out keyboard... With Exchange support, that would pretty much guarantee RIM's destruction.
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12-17-2007 @ 7:17PM
starkruzr said...
You clearly have not used the iPhone's keyboard.
12-18-2007 @ 8:22AM
DrWho said...
I hope you are kidding about the keyboard, a keyboard is the last
thing the iPhone needs.
12-17-2007 @ 3:16PM
Jeff said...
Excellent debunking of Forrestor's FUD
http://www.bynkii.com/archives/2007/12/they_never_can_stop_in_time.html
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12-17-2007 @ 3:29PM
Fritz Laurel said...
Oh well. So much for that errant investment in Exchange!
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12-17-2007 @ 3:52PM
Robert Reynolds said...
So how many CIO's are there compared to the amount of iPhones sold??
Think Apple cares about a few thousand obsessive compulsive CIO's????
Think we care?
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12-17-2007 @ 4:02PM
bibi-pov said...
Not to nitpick in any way, but it's "quelLE surprise" :) As for the rest, I guess the only answer I can think of about Forrester argument is "Duh!"
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12-17-2007 @ 5:11PM
JoeAD said...
What's that app on the iPhone in the picture?
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12-17-2007 @ 9:24PM
Joshua Eckstein said...
JoeAD: Inco.
12-17-2007 @ 9:56PM
Michael Rose said...
It's inco -- sorry, I should have credited it appropriately.
http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/14/tuaw-interview-inco-simple-sysadmin-from-your-iphone/
12-17-2007 @ 8:33PM
Chriss Cazayoux said...
Wow, used a Bb from 99 until iPhone purchase 6/30. Tying acumen is equal. But, that says more about my typing.
Funny, there are iPhones all over MS campuses. Many MS employees use them. Forrester is continuing to prove themselves irrelevant.
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12-17-2007 @ 10:17PM
MfS said...
It's funny...I'm the "IT Guy" at a very quickly-growing company, and all the top execs have iPhones. We have Exchange here too, it was a breeze and not a security risk for me to open IMAP support. I've heard z-e-r-o complaints about "not having a keyboard."
All the execs here had Treos, one of them a Blackberry, and they switched to the iPhone in August. Prior to that, I had a call ticket a week or more with some of the Treo/Blackberry users, saying "email's down," or "syncing isn't working," or the like.
Since they iPhones?
Nary a word.
Only times I've heard from iPhone users is when our network or new internet was down anyway.
The iPhone isn't for everybody, but I find it pretty funny some of the "reasons" for enterprise "not to support" an iPhone. Puh-leeze. I had to learn a few things, but it was not a hassle, not a security issue, not an ANYTHING to support the iPhone. Sure, it helps that I like Macs & work got me an iPhone too...but it was going back to the store if I couldn't get it to work. I had things synced & working in one day.
At least for our business, it's a welcome addition to support the iPhone. Less work for me!
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12-17-2007 @ 10:39PM
swatch said...
MfS:
I wish YOU worked at my company. I even tried dropping a benjamin franklin on the floor in his office, and he just said "nice try". I GUESSED that IMAP was the way to go to get things working just fine, but now I know for sure. The only question I have, though is...How about calendars? Does turning on IMAP also sync up the calendared items? Sorry this is probably the wrong place to ask that off-topic question, everyone.
Take care.
12-17-2007 @ 11:10PM
Harry said...
the people who say the iPhone has no future in the business world are most likely the same folks who declared
DONT MAKE ME TAKE MY HANDS OFF THE KEYBOARD TO USE A MOUSE.
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12-18-2007 @ 12:28AM
MfS said...
Swatch,
Users where I work use Microsoft Entourage for calendaring. There's no wireless syncing going on, just hard-syncing with iTunes-->iCal-->Entourage (in reverse).
And yes, IMAP works great. Sorry about your situation. I do understand why some big companies view IMAP as a "security risk;" I simply can't see where it's a problem. If it becomes a problem, I'll reconsider...but until then, everything works great.
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12-18-2007 @ 6:43AM
ak said...
I find it to be quite usual among people who haven't used Apple's hardware to play down the significance of the iPhone.
Like how Nokia will "run a train" on it etc.
Nokia for example has superior distribution network, years of R&D into hardware quirks and numerous other things the so called industry analysts refer to when they tout the pending death of the iPhone. But.. As with computers, Apple's success does not depend on conquering the world or populating every last inch of the planet with their products. They're comfortable with whatever little corner they have for themselves, and we the people couldn't be happier to pay the premium. There's just something about the perfect marriage of the hardware & software that makes the use of iPods, iPhones and Apple computers just that much more pleasant than that of the competition.
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12-18-2007 @ 10:21AM
nyleharris said...
when will TUAW stop posting Forrester's rubbish. Is this McQuivey's "research" again?
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