“With its picture gracing the cover of Time’s Nov. 12 ‘Best Inventions of 2007’ issue, the iPhone is undisputed as a technology product that matters to consumers. These days in IT that can mean only one thing — the enterprise is its destiny,” Robert Mullins reports for Network World.
“Just as instant messaging and Wi-Fi access migrated from the consumer to the enterprise environment, so too will the iPhone. User enthusiasm for the device, which made its grand debut on June 29, remains high. In a survey of 110 corporate messaging decision-makers, Osterman Research recently found the iPhone is by far the most-requested mobile device by employees. Seventy-two percent of the respondents say employees are asking for iPhone support,” Mullins reports. “The next most-requested device is the Palm Treo platform at 29%.”
MacDailyNews Take: The same 29% also requested some KC & The Sunshine Band, CB radios, platform shoes, pet rocks, Ford Pintos, an OPEC oil embargo, runaway inflation, and the immediate reinstatement of the Carter Presidency while asking in unison “What’s an iPhone?”
Mullins continues, “Suffice to say, the iPhone is a phenomenon that really matters to employees.”
“Nine percent of companies surveyed support the iPhone in their organizations. While small, that’s still impressive given the short time the iPhone’s been on the market, says Michael Osterman, president of the research firm. The iPhone stands to gain support in the enterprise from top executives who are early adopters of new technology,” Mullins reports. “‘They’ll go to the IT department and say, ‘I’m using an iPhone now. I need you guys to support it.’ I don’t know of many IT managers who are going to tell the CEO, ‘Sorry we don’t support that,” Osterman says.”
Mullins reports, “Apple would be wise to allow Microsoft’s Windows Outlook as one of those approved applications. In the Osterman survey, 85% of senior managers said on-the-road access to Outlook is ‘important’ or ‘extremely important.’ It’s also just as important to 73% of IT staff and 66% of salespeople… If Apple supports Exchange (the e-mail server that sends messages to the Outlook client program), IBM’s Lotus or other enterprise applications, that could convince more enterprises to support iPhone for their employees, Osterman says.”
Full article here.
Businesses have really shackled themselves to Microsoft’s Outlook and Exchange, haven’t they? How is Apple supposed to “allow” Microsoft’s Outlook to be an approved application on iPhone when Microsoft refuses to even make Outlook for the Mac* which currently has about 16 times the user base of iPhone (≈25M vs. ≈1.5M)? (Keeping Outlook off the Mac platform is one of the many typical methods employed by MS to “persuade” businesses to stay with Windows rather than switching to the superior Mac.)
Do you think Apple needs to license Exchange from Microsoft for the iPhone to become (even more) successful in business?
*Microsoft used to make Outlook for Mac (Classic Mac OS), but it has never been updated for Mac OS X.
MacDailyNews Note: Switchers: Little Machines’ “Outlook 2 Mac” (O2M, US$10) makes it easy to move the Outlook folders from your PC to your Macintosh — import email, contacts, and calendar appointments into Apple Mail, Address Book, iCal, Microsoft Entourage, and other third-party programs. More info here.
Might not be an issue much longer. From TUAW:
Even if iPhones are further into the enterprise market than some might think (or desire), the lack of native non-IMAP support for Exchange accounts on the device has given some users and their IT departments pause. While there are some solid third-party options coming along (Visto and SyncML among others), only an Apple-blessed solution is going to satisfy in the end. Is there progress on the home front? Chadwick sent along a link via ModMyiPhone.com to an Apple job posting for a QA engineer:
The iPhone Quality team is looking for a motivated, highly-technical Exchange test/sync engineer with excellent problem solving and communication skills. You will join a dynamic team responsible for qualifying the latest iPhone products. Your focus will be testing Exchange and Outlook functionality with Apple’s innovative new phone. The successful candidate will complete both documented and adhoc testing to ensure high quality releases.
Hiring a QA engineer implies that the Exchange connector code under development is getting ready for testing and release. Could an Exchange hookup for the iPhone be coming in time for Macworld Expo? Dee-lightful.
HEY!!! KC and the Sunshine Band kick @$$!!!
I was under the impression that the iPhone ran “OSX”, a complete version. Why can’t they stuff in Parallels? Not a “real” version of OSX? Or, not a “full” version?
When the C?O goes to IT and says “I have an iPhone now. Support it”, they will plead for a couple of days to get a workable implementation in place and then keep it quiet. Same thing for a C?O buying a Mac, except they’ll need maybe a couple of weeks. Not because it’s hard, but because they a) don’t believe how easy it is and b) don’t want it to be job-endingly easy. Either scenario, they will tell the rank-and-file “We don’t support Macs” “Period” “Did you not hear me?” “What part of NO do you not understand?” Eventually they’ll say that to a VP who has a C?O’s ear and … things change.
If it wasn’t for platform shoes, many of you would never have been born. That and Barry White’s music.
Gee, Dave. Your posts remind me of John Nash.
“Want hard? Easy. Don’t hear no.”
Rather than adding a whole bunch of gunk to the iPhone to support Exchange, what about using the infrastructure most companies already have in place for Blackberries?
This would probably require some kind of cooperation from RIM, either to create a plug-in for Blackberry Enterprise Server that would push data in an iPhone format, or to the iPhone itself to support Blackberry protocols.
However, this would gain Apple both Lotus Notes and Exchange support at the same time, for any organization that already has Blackberries deployed on one of these platforms.
RIM would stand to gain more money from additional BES server user licenses, Apple would gain Enterprise support and new open doors to the iPhone within IT, and individual users wouldn’t have to pay anything extra.
Just a thought.
If a wide margin ( 72%) of business employees are requesting the iPhone it looks to me like the IT departments have the responsibility to make it happen, not Apple.
Maybe these corporate IT folks need to look beyond the proprietary monopolies from RIMM and Redmond and start embracing open standards.
Ampar,
You are so wise. Ya know, my mother was wearing platform shoes when she gave birth to me in the back of a Pinto. They couldn’t make it to the hospital in time, so my father Barry White had to deliver me. She said he sang to her the whole time and she had multiple orgasms. When born I was 86″ long and 2″ in diameter. I hate Fords to this day.
iPhone is an overhyped piece of shit for dumbass Mactards.
Hey Reality Check,
As a card carrying dumbass MacTard, I resemble that remark! I live for overhyped shit! So what’ya think’a that Mister Smarty Pants?
LorD1776:
(LOL at your last 2 posts.)
Typical stupid MDN comment. I really don’t mind intelligent critical comments, but this is simply too childish.
MacBill:
I had a treo and have to agree with almost all your points and add to them that the treo’s speakerphone was louder than the iPhone.
Yet, as much as I miss those things, I would never ever go back to a treo. The iPhone is louds better on everything else now and will only improve as times go by.
For example, it was almost impossible to write this post on a Treo. Yet with my iPhone, as I’m doing right now, it is a breeze.
Ampar,
I hope you giggled, buddy.
Actually, LorD1776, I guffawed.
And I had a MacTard card made up but it’s too big to carry.
It’s a bit too glossy for my tastes.
And Mel Gross, shouldn’t you be yelling at kids to get off your lawn?
I’m ashamed to share one of your names.
“I really don’t mind intelligent critical comments . . .”
And that’s why we are here folks. But to be safe, shouldn’t we run everything by Mel first?
Ampar, you my have noticed that there are people here who like their Treo’s. So, if anything, MDN was insulting them.
If you agree with MDN’s insulting, childish outbursts, then you should be ashamed!
If people here want to make posts like the remark MDN made, thats fine, it just shows them to be insulting to other members, but the web site owners should have higher standards.
You don’t think so?
Aw geez Mel, lighten up a little. Childish insults are our way of life. It’s an American tradition, fer crying out loud. Don’t you remember from history class some of the insults hurled at poor King George by our rebellious Founding Fathers? One of my favorites was “King Boy George wears French panties!” That was actually the thing that sent him over the edge. More British troops were sent, the battle of Bunker Hill ensued , etc. And history was made, Mel. We would not exist as a nation if not for childish insults. Remember that the next time you feel like chastising MDN – a bastion of patriotism and defenders of the American Way of Life. Amen.
Lor, truthfully, it’s hard to see which way you’re going on this.
My only real point here is that the teacher in that class never came out with those insults, except, possibly, to teach the historical nature of it.
I know that many of the fan websites are run by high schoolers, or those who have recently made it to college, so that these kinds of things have to be expected from some of them, but still, it’s an insult to those of us who happen to have these devices ourselves, and who are readers of the site.
If I hated the site, I wouldn’t be here, remember that. But, sometimes, it’s a bit embarrassing, when others I know from other sites say they came here, and felt that it was a bad example.
I just think that whoever is writing for the site itself, should try to tighten up on the editorials, because, often, they are really silly, at best.
Oh, I wanted to add, that it’s better that a longtime Mac user, and someone who has a fair amount of Apple stock, say these things, then some PC user who happens to swing by the site.
Mel,
“Lor, truthfully, it’s hard to see which way you’re going on this.”
Tell me about it. I’m bipolar – even I don’t know what in the world I’m talking about. If you read a few more of my posts you will see.
But I understand where you are coming from. There have been times that the MDN take has seemed juvenile and idiotic to me also. But I think those kind are in the minority.
Most I find humorous. But maybe it’s just because I am such a staunch supporter of Apple, and we have been the downtrodden for so long, that I overlook what may seem going overboard to others.
But you must (maybe?) admit, it does make for a rather lively site. Of course, half the time (or more) the comments from people like me have absolutely nothing to do with Macs, Apple or anything within the industry.
And true, we Mac faithful should be more than willing to listen to and accept each others right to their own opinion. If some of my snide comments seem inappropriate, feel free to let me know. I mean, what can I do, worse than make a childish remark? Peace be with you, Mel.
I agree with what you’ve said.
What I would really like to see, is a greater indication that those who run this site actually care about what we have to say.
Possibly, that happened with my complaints, echoed by some others, about the “—Again” added to every single article about Apple’s price hitting a new high. That became very tedious. They never wrote “Apple stock drops—Again”. So, hopeful that’s a small sign.
But, they would do well to join our discussions sometimes, as happens on every other site I’ve ever been on.
But, somehow, this has less of a feeling of a forum that other sites.
Mel,
I never really thought about that. But that would make it a lot more interesting. A little one-on-one with MDN. Of course, once the trolls found out it would probably turn into a major flamefest.
I guess if we (the Mac faithful) had the willpower to ignore them it might work. But it sure is hard for me sometimes. Especially after I come home tired from work and the little dirtballs are at it. It’s like having a nagging migraine that won’t go away. Sometimes I wish only people with a .Mac account could join, but that would alienate some of our brethren. Oh well.
You should also come to Appleinsider. we have some good (long) discussions there.
Mel,
Thanks, I will give it a try.