IT on the iPhone: 'Use at your own cost and peril'
Ever wondered why your company will support Research in Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry but not the iPhone? Does it seem like the corporate deck is stacked against Apple (AAPL)?
A conference call with four chief information officers organized by Morgan Stanley's Kathryn Huberty last week might have confirmed your worst fears.
Of the four guests, only one — the CIO of a multi-billion dollar company who runs a Mac shop for the "creatives" who work there — actively supports the iPhone.
The other three dismissed the device with varying degrees of curiosity and contempt.
- "[Our company] doesn't explicitly prevent employees from using the iPhone," said one veteren CIO. "But we don’t support it through the help desk. So if there’s a problem we won’t help them with the issue."
- "Frankly," added a second, "some management in our organization think it’s more of a toy/gimmick thing because of the way it's marketed."
- The third summed up the posture of his department as "Use [it] at your own cost and peril."
What, exactly did these IT professionals see as the iPhone's shortcomings?
The most detailed answer came from Timothy Campos, the former CIO of KLA-Tencor (KLAC), a leading supplier of semiconductor yield enhancement equipment based in Milpitas, Calif.:
"Apple is way behind BlackBerry in terms of centralized management of these devices," he said. "They’re starting to catch up, but in terms of being able to control and manage what is on the device, to configure the device, to do remote provisioning of the device, to make sure the device works — we can do that for the BlackBerry; we can’t do that for the iPhone.
"It’s a solvable problem, but there’s no business case — at least in our industry — for solving that problem. And so do we don’t do it.
"What's interesting about the iPhone is [that] the capability of the device is tremendous," he added. "We're looking closely at it. There are a lot of people in IT who play around with it. So I wouldn’t say we have our heads in the sand. And as Apple catches up on the centralized management issues, it's not out of the realm of possibility that we would replace BlackBerrys with iPhones, or add iPhones to the mix."
That sentiment got dittos across the board. But in the current economic climate — which has put constraints on IT spending at all four companies — these managers are not looking to complicate their lives.
"We might have taken it on if it weren't for the downturn," said the managing director of IT at a ceramics manufacturing company that already supports two mobile platforms — BlackBerry and Palm. His department was thinking of adding the iPhone to the mix. But "that was one of the projects we didn’t need to take on," he said.
Apple can take comfort in the fact that IT's resistance to change is generalized and not restricted to the iPhone. Three of these four shops are still running Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows XP — with no plans to move up to either Vista or Windows 7.
Photo: Apple Inc.
Corporate IT has a job to do, and within a budget. Although it pays for IT to not change, to NOT INNOVATE, life itself "changes" daily. Thus, the rub.
If Apple continues to actively respond to IT concerns, it becomes IT's responsibility to keep up with those responses.
Beyond preferred use by corporate officers, clearly iPhone progress will be lead by Professionals (like "medical" and "legal") and Industries (especially Transportation – air, sea, rail, land (trucks); Media; Design; Publications; etc.) with their IT managers awakening to sheer demand for iPhone support ("corporate system integration", not that an iPhone has problems needing IT help)
i.e. Drivers and their Trucking Company as of June'09 find the iPhone 3GS irresistible because of GPS and the magnetometer directional Compass, and its unsurpassed combination of Internet access (email, browse, Maps, etc.), WiFi, 3G cellular communication access, and instant Application access (56,000 with continued growth by geometric progression!). Accidentally, the iPhone 3GS (because of 3G, GPS and WiFi capability) is replacing satellite communication dominance within the continental USA previously dominated by Qualcomm especially in trucking (over 90%). SatCom is no longer necessary.
iPhone use is about to rewrite the book on navigation for consumer travel (auto, RV, walking, hiking, etc.).
If Apple migrates GPS and magnetometer (compass) chips to its expected 9.7" touch screen MacBook NET and all other MacBooks (Pro, Air, etc.), domestic GPS devices, if not international ones, may soon all but disappear.
Will Apple's MacBook Net become the new TomTom GPS savvy device with Turn-by-turn capability?
Besides wireless WiFi & Bluetooth, will it have some sort of 3G cellular access?
How about actual cellular Phone service beyond Skype via the Internet? (Audio, Video, texting, etc.?)
With sophisticated Voice Control that really works, couldn't a MacBook Net become a hands-free phone with a Touch Screen [smile]? especially useful when mounted in a vehicle (truck, car, boat, etc.) on something like a JottoDesk (in cop cars)?
More universal IT support of iPhones and Macs is a matter of "when" not "whether" anymore. Steady increases in demand for use of communication user-friendly Apple iPhones, iPods & Macs will continue to erode dominance by RIM, MS and others.
"Control conscious" IT will have no choice but to play nice and follow a serious leader > Apple, Inc.
Summing up user opinions sofar:
- The majority of CIO's are a failure; you could easily replace them with a decent trained chipmunk.
- IT budget is never spent to refresh techs, instead its used to maintain decade old infrastructure, because people making decisions are too short sighted to make changes.
- Corporate IT environments is Windows only. Platforms such as ESX, Linux, Unix flavours and System i only exist in fiction novels.
- The iPhone is the biggest breakthrough in telecom hardware and anyone not embracing it is so 1990's.
- IT managers who have not already chosen to migrate to the iPhone must be either evil people wishing to see their firm collapse, or on RIM's payroll.
In light of recent events, I will go order one of them iPhone 3GS ASAP, hoping for salvation.
PS. I would love to have dead batteries on a company issued iPhone, who can stand having a nagging blackberry that refuses to die when desperate peace is required?
Everytime the blackberry rings or buzzes, my stomach tightens up involuntarily, fearing something's gone wrong at the office. It occurs mostly in the late of nights, weekends, only to find out that it was some company emails for unimportant events or FYIs. The actual alerts or emergency emails thru the blackberry is less than 10%, I hate the blackberry, and it is not only of the glut of email misuse, enterprises are lousy using the lousy blackberries, I have not another person who doesn't dread and hate the blackberry as much as I do.
Blackberry is bad news, always. Unless if it is I who sends out the email.
Many times the BES server crashes, so I fumble for my laptop, plug in the RAS, and get real work done. Recently almost every other workers simply ditch the blackberry and use the company Asus Aspire One with the RAS, I prefer to talk to the support desk rather than reading those useless email. I let my kids play with the blackberry, they use it only for IM with their friends, all the people with blackberries do that, the company data plan is free, so my kids can safely IM for hours using the corporate blackberry secure data plan saving me tons of $, terrific and stupid, come to think of it.
CA Associates should extend it's product line to include a administrative workbench to the iPhones as part of the ITRS infrastructure allowing iPhone complete accesses to the enterprise resources and securities as well as the business partners to enable maximum reach and flexibility, not just email and document services. The iPhone is the only device capable of meeting all the ITRS and other technical or regulatory requirements.
A a company phone, iphone is bad.
I have both crackberry and iphone.
crackberry battery lasts 4-5 days.
iphone last less than 1 day on stand by. If you uses it actively, it last less than 3 hrs.
…
Posted By houston,tx : July 12, 2009 4:54 pm
My iPhone's battery stayed full for 3 days on standby, from Friday to Monday. I went on a trip this weekend and have forgotten my phone home. On heavy use, mostly internet and calls, the charge would normally last a day.
I love these boards. yeah you are all so sophisticated….So are you telling me its wrong for a CIO to want to minimize the devices they support to keep cost down?? Grow Up
Typical Information Technology, they are supposed to be support, not dictators. People should be able to use the device that helps them get their jobs done best. I know that IT has only a certain amount of time and funds, but I don't think that is the problem here, the problem here is the same as it was in the 70's with IBM, and with Microsoft for the last 15 years. The problem being IT sticking their head in the sand and not wanting to see anything new or "BETTER" Just play it safe.
The iPhone is a much better device than the Blackberry, and I don't think there is much room for argument. I think people are getting tired of this, including CEOs of companies that are saying, I don't care if you support it or not, I want one.
I'm wondering if this will ever change, but as devices get easier to use, and do more without the assistance of IT, it will cange.
I have a customer who is a trucking company. I noticed a couple iPhones as I was there servicing them. I asked the CEO about it and was surprised when he told me they were switching from BB to iPhones company wide. He also said, "We can get more done with less effort and they cost us less per month too".
I give him credit for constantly seeking things that give them an edge. They've been customers for 15 years and have always set an example of doing more with less.
Every organization has different needs, and the checkbook speaks louder than mid-mgt's opinions.
A whole lot of USERS on here and few with real world IT experience. I love that anyone working in IT that is not Pro-Apple is somehow not understanding technology. I'm Microsoft certified, Apple certified, Cisco CCNA and Blackberry BES admin certified. I am paid to understand these technologies in how they function, how they can intergrate with your exsisting systems. Some of you need to get out of your parents house and actually go work in Corporate America in IT – trust me its not about Apple at all. Unless you work for somewhere like Google many companies have a very direct approach to IT and in my case have specific state and federal regulations to adhere to.
All that flys in the face of anything Apple is doing with iPhone. What good are the iPhone profiles you make as USERS ARE FREE TO NOT INSTALL THEM.
That is the point – you have no control of the device other then what is provided by Exchange ActiveSync Policy. And for those stating it just works – get educated. I have full control of Active Directory and the Exchange controls that allow iPhone to sync. I can (and have) disabled all means for the device to poll our email servers. iPhone for now is limited to web based email (OWA/OMA).
iPhone is woefully behind Blackberry with their BES solution and yes it has a cost. What server based solution doesn't? I'd love to see some of the poeple that post on here have to deal with a budget. Exchange is not FREE .. yes with your CAL you get ActiveSync but that is only the connection – it doesn't meet your needs for said security and compliance so YOU NEED TO PURSUE ADDITIONAL SERVER BASED SOLUTIONS TO MEET THOSE SHORTCOMINGS. You think your compliance risk officer is going to just sign off on any technology that doesn't meet those requirements? Funny.
A few vendors are now bringing enterprise grade solutions to the market for iPhone. The issue is like said – where is the cost benefit to putting in another infrastucture? What is there TCO? Our BES cost is very competitive and last I looked the iPhone solutions would cost MORE. Kinda hard to run that by the CIO these days with zero extra budget room.
So to set the record straight:
iPhone -
Exchange support only
Exchange ActiveSync Policy
- Remote Wipe
- Password Enforce
- Password Attempts
- Password Timeout
(all enforced on email sync)
- ActiveSync SSL encryption. 3GS "encrypted" but no information on what or how. No management of encryption.
Configuration Utility profile
- lock camera
- Allow apps install
- allow safari
- allow itunes
* user installation required.
No usage reporting other that IIS log parsing.
Blackberry Enterprise Sever 4.1.6
- over 250 policies with control of every aspect of the device
- full over the air provisioning and management
- zero desktop software installed
- robust reporting
- fully encrypted adheres to recent state encryption regulatory laws (NV,MA)
Now understand a number of companies have little to no security concerns and yes iPhone would be a useful device. Most fortune 500 companies do though and this is why Blackberry has the market share they do.
Many companies are also exploring application developement and extension to mobile devices and its just too expensive to do this on multiple platforms (in the current economy). So they settle on a standard and platform and considering the investment they already have in Blackberry – it only makes sense. Seeing Apple hasn't offered much Enterprise support or shared it's roadmap many are just keeping iPhone on their radar but going forward with what they have.
BTW I've had an iPhone since before it launched as well a multitude of Blackberry and a Palm Pre to use whenever I wish so I know each devices pro's and con's. iPhone is a great weekend device but Blackberry is what gets my work done.
Sorry so long.
Now I'm not disputing that the BlackBerry has the best business features of any platform but…
- you do NOT need a MobileMe subscription to wipe the iPhone.
- you CAN limit access to the AppStore and the iTunes Store
- etc.
Several self-proclaimed IT pros badmouthing the iPhone here are not informed about the iPhone's business features. Apparently they preferred to get their information from flashy consumer websites rather than doing some solid research… A lot of in-depth information is available on:
@ John from PA
"IT professional is to be a skeptic and not adopt a new technology just because ‘everyone else is doing it’ or ‘you just don’t understand Apple’."
Posted By John, Philadelphia, PA : July 12, 2009 4:40 pm
But I think you will have to admit that while it is important for IT to be skeptical, it is also normal for people to resist change because it requires them to learn new skills, especially in an already overwork environment. It also easy to come up with reasons why NOT to adopt new technology.
I think you will have to admit that there are many in IT who are over-resistant to change.
I work IT for a public university. We are more than happy to support the iPhone but we view our job as trying to support our students and staff…not lock them down and tie them up.
With that said…a few points -
Blackberries cost more to support because it requires a special server through which all messages are pushed. We estimate that our cost is a few hundred dollars per user. That's support hours when their server inevitably takes a dive and actual user licensing.
Someone mentioned jailbreaking and the iPhone and how they had never heard of a Blackberry being jailbroken….that is because the Blackberry doesn't have a jail. There is no need on that platform. Understand this.. It's hard to jailbreak an iPhone inadvertantly. You have to crack through the jail. With the excepton of an early safari bug I think every jailbreak since has reuired the user actually to put the iPhone in a hardware recovery mode then when it reconnects in recovery mode the application on the computer can take it and unloa it's payload…yes it opens up access to mac osx running underneath. Could it be misused…you bet. Is it….I doubt it.
If "support" for a mobile platform includes letting people use exchange…well then the iPhone doesn't need your IT departments blessing. It will just work….which is more than you can say for blackberry…if they haven't locked you out of the server remotely and the iPhones VPN software can't get you in.
Oh well…in acadamia we value freedom … Not corporate-think.
Centralized management is why Blackberry is horrible. When the management goes down there are massive outages. Check out why you shouldn't buy a Blackberry: http://community.koinlocal6.com/blogs/current_hot_topics/archive/2009/06/08/4174874.aspx
When first personal computers came out in late 1970's, I seem to recall that entrenched corporate types and some big three-letter computer company referred to them as "useless toys" too. And that sorry attitude caused them to be very late to the biggest sea-change in tech in the last 100 years….
"security: iPhone passcode is 4 numbers, Blackberry is alpha/numeric and server controlled through policies"
The optimal word there is "server." The iPhone can integrate with server-based systems. As an IT "professional," I would expect you to know this.
"iPhone is all based around iTunes, not exacly a corporate type software you want rolling out. Also potentially raises copyright issues with people sharing music."
Really? So how do BB folks buy music, movies, shows, etc? Another narrow point of view spun to fit your agenda. Nice.
"At least if iTunes is officially an unsupported application the business can pass blame onto employees for violating any copyrights, if it has to be supported to support iPhones it could get messy."
Why? Its the same if you buy an mp3 now from Amazon and put in on your BB. Do people even think before they write this gibberish?
"many corporations do not want cameras of any sorts on cell phones to protect secrets, many Blackberry models have no camera functionality at all which is a plus."
Umm, you can turn the camera off via the Camera API. Wow, that was hard.
"likewise do they really want to roll out what could be termed an over glorified music/video player that can make phone calls?"
I can make calls, conference calls, hold, call forward, etc…what other functionality can a BB do? Black magic?
"how do they restrict purchasing of apps, music etc via iTunes? who “owns” the content? The device belongs to the company so is it miss use of the device?"
Umm, again, you have to set up and iTunes account with YOUR credit card. You're blurring the line between corporate policies and personal use. Clearly, there are no managers in the house.
"It isn’t that the iPhone is a bad device (i own one) just that Blackberry started in the corporate world and went to the consumer market, iPhone is trying to go the other way and unless it allows the IT depts to secure the device etc etc it won’t make significant inroads into the corporate world."
Really? So, the whole of Intel going to iPhone is not significant? Fascinating.
Posted By James – Denver, CO : July 12, 2009 10:02 pm
"As an IT security professional, the iPhone scares the bejesus out of me. It is a fantastic consumer device, and it easily bests Palm, WinMo, or BlackBerry in that department. But, as an enterprise device, it is a disaster waiting to happen, and here’s why."
Oh, I can't wait….
"1) It’s an unsecured platform. Ever heard of a jailbroken BlackBerry? No, because it doesn’t exist. You can crack the iPhone’s OS, and that means the potential for viruses, keyloggers, and all the other trash on the internet."
I can break a blackberry within a matter of seconds. The misinformation you are providing surrounds BB's MVS. Don't confuse handset software with server-based software. IT people, are you kidding me?
"2) No centralized configuration and management. If someone on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server loses a BlackBerry, you can call IT and they can lock it and wipe it with a few keystrokes. You lose an iPhone, and you have to call Apple. Moreover, with the tight integration of the App Store, there can be problems enforcing a strict security policy, which for people privy to sensitive corporate information is a must."
Hmm. With a click of my mouse, my entire iPhone can be deleted remotely. Again, well done with no knowing anything about the device in question.
"3) The iPhone is fragile. You look at it crosseyed and it’ll do something weird. You can run over a BlackBerry with a car and it’ll still run. If you break a BlackBerry, all you have to do is replace the phone and backup from your BES or your local backup. This is important because corporate types treat their phones like crap. If it can’t take a beating, you can’t send it on the road."
I've dropped my BB and iPhone several times, and neither are worse for wear. What your doing, giving Gallagher a few props in your down time?
4) The iPhone has terrible battery life. You have to recharge it at least twice a day. My BlackBerry can go a full day of heavy use before I have to recharge it, and usually it’ll last for 2-4 days before recharging. Also, you can replace the battery on a BlackBerry, something Apple hasn’t figured out is a good design move yet."
Actually, the iPhone 3GS has better batter life than any smartphone currently out there, BB included. I would know since i've had to record said statistics for our internal audit of said handsets. But, if it makes you feel good to think that than go right ahead and think that.
It seems to me that these so called "IT Professionals" need to do a bit of homework before they make erroneous comments meant to deface a product that they simply don't like. If you were a true professional, you would keep a bit more of an open mind.
This is all moot http://images.apple.com/iphone/business/integration/
The question you'd have to ask yourself if you are a CIO is: Do I want to be behind the curve or ahead of it?
If my CIO is resisting new technology because "it's more stuff to support", or "there could be some headaches," then I'm getting myself a new CIO.
I want my CIO thinking about what our employees can DO with new technology. How can they be more productive? How can they do things they were never able to do before? How can our use of new technology help us get rid of this old, annoying, expensive technology we've been struggling with for so long. Do we need to be aware of the potential pitfalls and work to limit them? Sure. But which CIO do you want to be?
1. "We didn't get into the iPhone business because we had a lot of concerns." or
2. "We got into the iPhone business because we saw all of the potential."
Rather than go through a point-by-point debunking of James' (and Adam's, etc.) uninformed comments, it's easier to post a link to the Enterprise Deployment Guide.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/Enterprise_Deployment_Guide.pdf
Unsurprisingly, it provides answers like:
- Remote Wipes sent through Exchange Server 2007 or 2003
- Centralized, secure configuration profiles
- Passcode policies that enforce alphanumeric value, minimum length, etc.
- Disable camera, ability to install apps, and default apps on an app-by-app basis
It would be nice if these so-called "IT guys" would do a little research rather than spout out assumptions and baseless drivel. iPhone deployment isn't as advanced as Blackberry, but it's clearly not 'use at your own cost and peril' either.
I have learned, time and time again, that IT managers are morons at best. Typically, they know Windows and……… yeah…. Windows.
They don't know any other OS. I could respect them if they had knowledge of multiple OSs, but they don't.
Mac & Win
Win & Linux/Unix
Mac & Unix – how great, they're the same thing, really (Windows guy: Whaddya mean?)
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Lacking, of course, is the understanding that RIM aimed the Blackberry squarely at government / industry, and built an infrastructure to support that. The Blackberry came into being as a mobile telephone with added applications for business, and RIM provides a number of platforms, with differing price points. None of this applies to the iPhone, which is, in essence, nothing more than a handheld Macintosh with a cellphone thrown in. This is about support, about the support an enterprise needs from a manufacturer, from basic design to fixing things for priority customers on a 24/7 basis. Apple has none of the above – if the Apple crowd is seriously suggesting Fortune 50 corporations and the Department of Defense have to subscribe to iTunes to maintain their PDAs, together with the wonderful folks that buy music there, they're not really understanding the needs of enterprise and government, nor its restrictions.
additional comments…
- security: iPhone passcode is 4 numbers, Blackberry is alpha/numeric and server controlled through policies.
- iPhone is all based around iTunes, not exacly a corporate type software you want rolling out. Also potentially raises copyright issues with people sharing music.
At least if iTunes is officially an unsupported application the business can pass blame onto employees for violating any copyrights, if it has to be supported to support iPhones it could get messy.
- many corporations do not want cameras of any sorts on cell phones to protect secrets, many Blackberry models have no camera functionality at all which is a plus.
- likewise do they really want to roll out what could be termed an over glorified music/video player that can make phone calls?
- how do they restrict purchasing of apps, music etc via iTunes? who "owns" the content? The device belongs to the company so is it miss use of the device?
It isn't that the iPhone is a bad device (i own one) just that Blackberry started in the corporate world and went to the consumer market, iPhone is trying to go the other way and unless it allows the IT depts to secure the device etc etc it won't make significant inroads into the corporate world.
As an IT security professional, the iPhone scares the bejesus out of me. It is a fantastic consumer device, and it easily bests Palm, WinMo, or BlackBerry in that department. But, as an enterprise device, it is a disaster waiting to happen, and here's why.
1) It's an unsecured platform. Ever heard of a jailbroken BlackBerry? No, because it doesn't exist. You can crack the iPhone's OS, and that means the potential for viruses, keyloggers, and all the other trash on the internet.
2) No centralized configuration and management. If someone on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server loses a BlackBerry, you can call IT and they can lock it and wipe it with a few keystrokes. You lose an iPhone, and you have to call Apple. Moreover, with the tight integration of the App Store, there can be problems enforcing a strict security policy, which for people privy to sensitive corporate information is a must.
3) The iPhone is fragile. You look at it crosseyed and it'll do something weird. You can run over a BlackBerry with a car and it'll still run. If you break a BlackBerry, all you have to do is replace the phone and backup from your BES or your local backup. This is important because corporate types treat their phones like crap. If it can't take a beating, you can't send it on the road.
4) The iPhone has terrible battery life. You have to recharge it at least twice a day. My BlackBerry can go a full day of heavy use before I have to recharge it, and usually it'll last for 2-4 days before recharging. Also, you can replace the battery on a BlackBerry, something Apple hasn't figured out is a good design move yet.
IT folks are skeptical when it comes to new technology for a reason. If IT enacted every half baked technology idea that some vice president read in an airplane magazine, they'd never accomplish anything because everything would always be broken. BlackBerry's just work, and it's why they're the predominant enterprise smartphone. The iPhone is great, but it's no BlackBerry yet.
Here we are in the middle of a major recession. Companies need to save money and trim the fat.
Lay off those CIO's and IT Managers. They're just in the way. They're roadblocks to technological progress. They're only concerned about control issues (with them in charge of course). They want to dictate what computer and cell phone I have, tell me what software I can run, wipe me clean.
My message to them: Just go away. Take a hike.
All of you guys complaining, go to your IT departments, not in this blog, you cannot influence IT departments here. All guys commenting here are apple shareholders and rim shareholders as well as rim and apple shorts. hahaha
"Today every platform can do virtually what every other platform can as far as computing. Apple/Windows/Linux, it’s all about the interface for the Humans that changes. Why does business need a phone that can be a bubble level too?"
Wow! Incredibly uninformed about how the iPhone stacks up against the other mobiles. In fact, we could easily say that the iPhone is in a set of 1, incomparable to any other cell out there.
These Guys are right in the corp world you want to beable to manager 100s of iphones from a desktop and remote managerment, i see no way of doing this atm Nokia & RIM offer this
Great article…I agree, it is very strange that IT has such an issue supporting the iPhone…the nice thing is that it doesn't need much support.
My company doesn't official support it, and they said it wouldn't work…and I didn't have to do anything special and it works perfect with exchange server!
Remember…
These are IT morons talking. They have an arrogant
"my way or the highway" attitude. The CIOs they talked to sound
like idiots. I posted this comment on an iPhone 3GS.
CIOs know very little about technology.. They are just IT
"professionals" with a title to justify their bloated salaries.
These same idiots probably wanted to hold on to
motorola pagers when the Blackberry appeared.
A a company phone, iphone is bad.
I have both crackberry and iphone.
crackberry battery lasts 4-5 days.
iphone last less than 1 day on stand by. If you uses it actively, it last less than 3 hrs. Unless they resolve this battery issue, doesn't matter if they have centeralized management or super software. A dead phone is as good as a brick. end case.
If you read the comment “It’s a solvable problem, but there’s no business case — at least in our industry — for solving that problem."
That is the crux of the matter. For those who say that they find it incredibly useful for their work, great, that sounds like a sound business case. If you make a rational and compelling case to your IT, you will get a more receptive audience. But just saying "they don't get it" will get you nowhere.
And to Frank from Boston(July 12), you clearly have not worked in IT. Part of being an IT professional is to be a skeptic and not adopt a new technology just because 'everyone else is doing it' or 'you just don't understand Apple'.
I am a former IT employee for a major wireless operator (not AT&T), and have used a BlackBerry for the past 3 years. I recently migrated to the iPhone, and use for work email. My only regret is that somebody didn't slap me a year ago and force me to change. As my colleague (IT Engineering Director) said, "Everybody loves the iPhone, they just don't know it yet." I couldn't agree more.
I had an iphone but switched to a blackberry and both have their issues. The main one is that I have to cut out coupons from http://www.slickbudget.com just so I can afford the $159 a service charge from Verizon every month. The need to make the phone services more affordable.
Just like our company does not support your home wireless network (too many variables that we do not control), we do not support mobile phone devices not provided by the company.
The iPhone is very capable, but there are lots of people commenting who don't realize what organizations are capable of doing on the backend with Blackberry & its infrastructure.
With Apple you pay for Mobile Me per device for the luxury of wiping a lost device remotely when this is controlled by the Blackberry server. (x) iPhones * $99 per year for Mobile Me + data plan + phone plan vs cost of a Blackberry server + support + data plan + phone plan.
It isn't that companies don't wont to support the iPhone, it is just Apple makes the support more consumer orientated and hasn't gotten the support for the Enterprise. Fix that and lots of companies will be willing to take it on. Right now though, the iPhone is not likely to make inroads on the business side much past the small business arena as they are the ones more likely to be used to this kind of non enterprise support.
Jailbroken iPhones are extremely versatile devices that can do pretty much anything you want, if you have the coding experience. More and more corporations need to embrace the iPhone and it's user platform; it'll pay dividends down the line.
How many of you actually have to support multiple apps on multiple platform?? Bet you'd change your tune if everytime some hair brained gadget came down the pike and you had to read all the docs (because the people that want it are TOO LAZY TO). AND many times the device has nothing to do with everyday work-it's so they can play their tunes and surf the web. Today every platform can do virtually what every other platform can as far as computing. Apple/Windows/Linux, it's all about the interface for the Humans that changes. Why does business need a phone that can be a bubble level too?
As the author says – the biggest problem with deploying the iPhone in the enterprise is it's lack of centralized management (and the corresponding advanced and mature centralized management for Blackberry). Other mobile platforms such as Windows mobile and Symbian have similar issues in the enteprise because they're simply not as easy to manage as the Blackberry. It's less to do do with thinking the iPhone is a toy/gimmick and more to do with enterprise management.
I think I understand why most IT against Apple. Most of them are not familiar with MAC or Unix. They are having hard time supporting broken PC and Windows server. They don't want to add more works for them by supporting Apple or learning new system. The End.
When I worked for Apple, I constantly bad-mouthed MSFT products, being the company guy that I was. But in reality, I was completely clueless about Windows — I never used the product.
When I left Apple, I was forced to use a PC, like it or not. I then got to know Windows. Some things I liked (like the 2-button mouse) while (many) other things I did not.
But at least now I could speak intelligently on the comparison between the two platforms.
There's no doubt in my mind that these three unnamed IT wunderkinds are in the same boat I was when I worked for Apple: clueless but tossing invectives nonetheless. When I hear someone calling Apple products "toys" then I know they don't know the first thing about the subject. By popping off like this they expose their gross ignorance. Shouldn't they have first been tested for SOME knowledge on the iPhone before being asked for their opinions?
As a physician in a large hospital, I have found the iPhone to be second to nothing! I used a blackberry and a palm device and neither can stand up to the iphone.
On an iPhone, I can get images, manipulate them, read labs and actually, through Citrix, manage my 7 daily applications that I would normally have to sit behind a desk to do.
I can go around the hospital campus and look up anything, anytime on a patient. When I'm on the phone with a patient, I can instantly pull up that patient's chart and talk to them at the same time. I can send email, pictures, labs through our secure VPN and I can send them without having to use zip or other files. In other words, I basically have a desktop computer in my hands.
Our IT department initially said no to the device, but after a few of them started using it, it became evident that they will eventually need to support it. It comes down to this. A 3 AM call in the morning and the ability to confirm information -Blackberry, Palm or iPhone? iPhone wins without question. With the logarithmic growth of apps, this device is becoming more and more sophisticated. Yes, it's being touted to consumers, but if you don't look beyond that, then I assure you, Physicians such as myself will use it Despite your objections.
Physicians have spoken and we have spoken in droves: IT must support the iPhone.
IT resisted Blackberrys as well. They just resist anything that they (or their favorite company) didn't think of first.
So apples iPhone has 25% of the corporate world excepting the iPhone. A 25% gain in a year. Pretty good.
i enjoyed this article. now i don't need to talk to my grampa for a few weeks cuz i've gotten my fill of 'wisdom' from, like, five grampas having read this. old people have done so much for this country (i mean, just look where we are now!!!) and i think we should, yet again, heed their advice. p.s. the earth remains flat.
In any other business, if your customers were interested in a technology, and your function was to support their wishes, you would figure out a way to do it – or go out of business.
Not so with IT people, who usually find a way to make customers feel like that are disrupting a finely tuned machine. 'Why do you want that?' is the standard reply.
No other business asks customers why they want something – they just get it for them.
The IT professionals who get it will figure out a way to make it happen, and develop stuff according to how people wish to work. And these companies will use resources more flexibly, innovate faster, and out-compete the calcified bureaucracies of companies that are fixed in 1995. IT, look at what has happened to the music industry and print media for your future direction. Innovate or die.
“[Our company] doesn’t explicitly prevent employees from using the iPhone,” said the CIO of a Silicon Valley-based semiconductor services company. “But we don’t support it through the help desk. So if there’s a problem we won’t help them with the issue.”
That has got to be the most irresponsible policy: Allowing a device into the infrastructure without supplying help to keep at least the potential security issues in check.
I was thinking of the same thing when reading this, IT doesn't like anything but windows. I don't know why, but they get mad when a person even talks about anything Apple. They talk below it all the time. I don't care what people want to use, people have choices, but in my experience as a Apple user I've have had people that use windows confront me on my choice of using Apple, not the other way around. They'd get into a conversation or ask me questions about why I use Apples products, then they try to knock me down, even as they have never used it. It's strange but true. I've been put down my those people who say, it's a toy…go figure? It's not a toy, I've been using Apple for almost 20 years and prior to that I used the older PCs, prior to them adopting windows. It's like a car, you have your choices, get what works for you, and if you want more get it. I'm not into games, and use apple products for business, graphics, and a multitude of other things on a daily basis at home and away from home.
RE: "… Apple can take comfort in the fact that IT’s resistance to change is generalized and not restricted to the iPhone… "
The IT department has ALWAYS been resistant to change. These guys are dedicated to the status quo. They want total control and are horrid about innovation and progress. They wish for the days of the mainframe with numerous terminals used by subscribers.
The iPhone is a powerful handheld computer. We're only at the beginning of a steep trajectory of adoption. Apple will continue to make enterprise security and support more robust. Compelling applications that increase productivity will be the ultimate driver of adoption in the workplace.
Big company CIO's and IT Managers tend to be control freaks. They want to completely control the employee's computing experience. Their need for control takes precedence over the user's experience and best functionality.
If left up to them the company's computers would still be housed in glass walled computer rooms and employees wouldn't be allowed to touch them. They fought to keep the IBM 360 mainframes far beyond their useful life. It's in their DNA.
Personally, as an IT ERP professional with 30 years experience, I believe that these Infrastructure type pinheads are just worried that they'll have to support two phones instead of one and are scared of it. They don't know what the iPhone is and they don't know what it can do for you and they don't care because it is not a Blackberry.
I've been using an iPhone since it came out and have had very few problems. Apple's tech support is much better than our Fortune 500 tech support organization so the threat of cutting me off of tech support is rather empty.
It's all just a bunch of nonsense from from a bunch of blowhard know nothings with fancy titles.
If Kathryn Huberty was involved, the reliability of this report is instantly suspect. She is known for being consistently off the mark concerning Apple.
Someone should do a formal survey on percentage of enterprises cutting back on issuing blackberries to employees. I hear different sources saying 12% to 44%, it's ridiculous. Many employees bring their iPhone or even Pre to work.