“Some corporate customers are using the Apple iPhone in place of ‘smartphones’ such as Research in Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry and other devices that have long track records among business users. Some are even tapping into business-centric applications for tracking inventory and accounting. Business software makers such as NetSuite Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. are marketing their applications to iPhone users and, in some cases, modifying software so it works more smoothly on Apple’s device,” Nick Wingfield reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“Brian Keare, chief operating officer of Circle of Friends LLC, a maker of hair-care and bath products for children in Santa Monica, Calif., is one customer using the iPhone for business. Though he bought it primarily to make phone calls, write emails and use the iPod entertainment functions, he decided to test the limits of the iPhone’s Web browser by logging onto NetSuite, where his small company’s sales, accounting and other records are kept,” Wingfield reports.
“To Mr. Keare’s surprise, it worked flawlessly, allowing him access to all of his company information on the go. He had previously had no luck accessing NetSuite, with its complicated design, from the browser on a Blackberry or Palm Inc.’s Treo. ‘They choked on the Web pages,’ he said,” Wingfield reports. “‘It’s proving to be useful enough we’re really going to take advantage of it and use it as a business tool,’ said Mr. Keare, who has stopped using his Treo.”
“Salesforce.com said its Web site currently works on the iPhone, and that it is modifying its software to more effectively display the site through the iPhone browser. Zimbra Inc., which makes a Web-based competitor to Microsoft Corp.’s Outlook email, calendar and contacts program, expects to offer a version of its software tailored to the iPhone next month,” Wingfield reports.
“Adam Gross, vice president of developer relations at Salesforce.com, believes the iPhone will follow the path of other technologies with consumer roots, like the Web browser and Adobe Systems Inc.’s Flash animation software, that were ultimately embraced by businesses. ‘I think the iPhone absolutely is going to have a big impact on mobile business applications,’ he said,” Wingfield reports.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Nick L.” for the heads up.]
I will buy one when I can receive an attached file via e-mail on the iPhone and copy it from the iPhone to my computer.
Yes! I knew it. The crummy Blackberry or Treo ain’t got nothin’ on the iPhone!
The best iPhones are yet to come.
Hang on, children!
“TheloniousMac, Calling TheloniousMac, one order of crow is waiting for you!”
Side effect: those sites will work better on Safari in Leopard too. Smart move, Steve..
Oh… if only I owned more than a handful of shares of AAPL. No matter. I’ll make a nice little bit of “change” in due time, and it will pay for a future laptop and whatever else I might want.
david
The way the iphone is set up the file is already on your computer.
duh!!!!!!!!!! I am a moron and say stuff that make me feel smart……..
Uh, yeah they do. They let me use my Exchange data.
Magic word: needs
As in, “I needs to be able to get to my contacts and calendar, even if Apple doesn’t understand that.”
This is truly excellent news. Yet another reason for me to purchase when the iP lands on UK shores.
@David:
The iPhone syncs with email on your computer and thus the file you wish to transfer is probably already there. If it is to a non-sync’d computer, you can email it. If it is to a non-sync’d computer NOT connected to the internet, then you are stuck, but who even uses those anymore?
Wrong, wrong, wrong, a thousand times wrong. The iPhone doesn’t run Windows, so it couldn’t possibly be a tool for business. Plain and simple. The iPhone is like those MAC toys Apple makes. They’re cute little dumbed-down Windows knock-offs for kids and the grandparents. Lazy people who don’t want to help family members and friends with computer issues recommend them.
Good luck doing REAL work in the REAL world with one of those things. I’d like to see you make the “Your Mom Doesn’t Work Here So Pick Up After Yourselves” sign for the breakroom on an iPhone. For that you need Microsoft Word. On Windows.
Your potential. Our passion.™
It’s always the same damn two companies whenever I see an article about the iPhone and businesses.
Hmmmmm… NetSuite.
palm is dead… RIMM has a network and loyal customers. i own AAPL shares and find owning RIMM wudv been a better play… i own a blackberry, awesome fone. but iPhone…iʻm jus too cheap to put that kinda money down for 1.0 version.
I’m with Zune Tang on this one. It is well known that Apple can only do creative stuff, not “word processy” stuff, like typing.
I know, iPhone has a virtual keyboard. But, because it is not a physical keyboard, you have to LOOK at it. That means I could not keep up a text message conversation and write e-mails while driving.
Plus, I read that they really didn’t sell that many iPhones.
@ david
If you knew how to properly set up your email, you’d choose IMAP, which keeps the messages on the server. All devices accessing your account (computers, iPhone, etc.) simply sync with the server.
The iPhone is not the limitation here. Your knowledge is.
@ DRM sucks
Please stay off our public roads. You’re a safety risk.
sync my contacts and calendar?
as a “no”.
Yep, the Blackberry and Treo are hard as hell to sync to the Mac. iPhone, piece of cake.
Zune Tang, you are a Blog Whore. Pure and simple.
http://www.samanthaburns.com/
“If you build it, they will come.”
I sync my Blackberry to my Mac all the time. I have no idea what you’re talking about.
Treo, no clue. I wouldn’t own one so I don’t know.
But my Blackberry syncs OTA to the company’s Exchange Server just fine and syncs with my Mac just fine. If the iPhone were as flexible I’d have one in a heartbeat. And I have every confidence that Apple with eventually either license ActiveSync or RIM will write a version of Blackberry Connect and the problem will be solved.
I doubt very seriously many so called “businesses” will be switching to the iPhone. It is anything but a business device. E-mail on the Edge network is just too freaking slow. The problem is that with a Blackberry, e-mail is pushed so the user is unaware of how long it takes to download. With the iPhone you are painfully aware of every freaking rotation of that silly wheel while waiting for some useless piece of spam before you get to your actual e-mail.
Users of the iPhone must conform to it’s paradigm shift. The iPhone is so rigid and locked up that it can’t adjust to the needs of a user.
It’s just too slow for someone on the go.
One of my clients, a lawyer, bought 3. He handed them back to me this morning and told me to “figure out what to do with these things.”
In addition, there are some e-mail servers out there that the iPhone just does not like.
I had to “adjust” to the iPhone to make it acceptable for my purposes as well. I did this by moving my domain to Yahoo because I noticed that it constantly hung when downloading e-mail from my previous domain host but was fairly quick when access mail via Yahoo.
Exchange server access is based on luck, near as I can tell.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until Apple releases a workable smartphone with features comparable to even a horrible Windows Mobile Device. The iPhone is a proof of concept device. It is not ready for business, not yet. Apple needs to send some iPhone developers around with crackberry fanatics to see what the competition is all about.
With business it ain’t about pretty. Everyone agrees this phone sure is pretty, the UI sure is great, but in use the phone is too slow and it hangs up to often.
You NEED to be able to delete groups of e-mail at a time. You NEED to not be tethered to the Internet to use the device. Web based applications are a joke and no one is seriously going to adopt that. Even with WiFi web based apps are slow and tedious on the iPhone.
Not to mention the fact that it just makes the phone insecure. (I told you guys that the first hack tot he iPhone would be through Safari also, and it was done exactly the way I said it would be done.)
Developers need to be able to build clients that talk to specific databases to prevent hacking.
You can write a page of information about all the things that are neat about the iPhone. You can write volumes on what it’s lacking though.
David, what would prevent you from copying an attachment from an email on you PC from the email program on your PC? Email you get on the iPhone is not limited only to the iPhone. Typically you are accessing an email account you already have and are able to access from a PC. Why would you need to download an attachment from an email on you iPhone if you already have the attachment in an email that you can access from you PC already? You are thinking backwards. You must have a lot of experience with Windows.
What most people do not get about the iPhone is that it’s a device that basically for INFORMATION RETRIEVAL and not for (that much) input. Although you can use it for inputing text for a URL, or e-mail or text messaging, I just wouldn’t use it for that much input, myself. Obviously, it’s also to send/receive calls.
Don’t take the bait from the PeeCee Weiner flamers. It’s a wonderful device for business use.
I’m with dd: “Oh… if only I owned more than a handful of shares of AAPL”.
That said, I’m pleasantly surprised – even astonished – how fast this thing is penetrating the business world. Heck, it hasn’t been out even 30 days and we’re already seeing early adoptions, applications optimized, and extended functionality. All this without the benefit of “early access”, development tools, etc. This is just phenomenal.