Is the iPhone ready for business use?
Posted
Aug 05 2008, 12:53 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Gartner just gave Research in Motion a nice gift. The research firm wrote a nine-page report saying that Apple's iPhone isn't secure enough to run many of the customized programs used by big businesses. Perhaps that's why RIM shares are up more than 3% today. But Apple shares are up 3% as well.
The newest iPhone can run up high international roaming charges, and its battery might not hold up for even one full day of e-mailing, said the report, according to Computerworld. Another issue is that the phone can't encrypt data on its own. Third-party software vendors need to write an encryption program, but they're having problems doing so, the report said.
Also, companies need to install Apple's iTunes on computers so that the iPhone can get updates. But it's hard to verify what Apple is sending down the pipe, and companies would have to watch for unwanted content. The report says that Apple should have better ways for companies to manage the phone internally.
The report strikes a blow to Apple's efforts to expand into a business world dominated by BlackBerries. Many companies aren't supporting the iPhone for some of the reasons Gartner pointed out. But if nothing else, the report is a road map for the specific steps Apple needs to take to groom the iPhone for business use.
In the meantime, competitors like Research in Motion should be handing out the report to everyone.
Web veteran David Galbraith says the iPhone will never be an enterprise product. "Businesses do not buy groundbreaking, beautifully designed products that give the impression they might be spending too much money, just like they didn’t buy the Macintosh," he writes. "They will buy a good enough, slightly crappy phone that has a keyboard - the Blackberry."
Galbraith is underestimating Apple. The company will get there, but it clearly has some work to do.
Related reading:
Apple takes on BlackBerry for business users
New BlackBerry coming. iPhone who?
Apple's grandiose plans for the iPhone
