Filed under: Enterprise, iPhone
Forrester declares iPhone wrong for enterprise users
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]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kshackelford said 2:10PM on 12-17-2007
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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starkruzr said 2:48PM on 12-17-2007
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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Mike said 2:54PM on 12-17-2007
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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akatsuki said 3:00PM on 12-17-2007
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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starkruzr said 7:17PM on 12-17-2007
You clearly have not used the iPhone's keyboard.
DrWho said 8:22AM on 12-18-2007
I hope you are kidding about the keyboard, a keyboard is the last
thing the iPhone needs.
Jeff said 3:16PM on 12-17-2007
Excellent debunking of Forrestor's FUD
http://www.bynkii.com/archives/2007/12/they_never_can_stop_in_time.html
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Fritz Laurel said 3:29PM on 12-17-2007
Oh well. So much for that errant investment in Exchange!
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Robert Reynolds said 3:52PM on 12-17-2007
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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bibi-pov said 4:02PM on 12-17-2007
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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JoeAD said 5:11PM on 12-17-2007
What's that app on the iPhone in the picture?
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Joshua Eckstein said 9:24PM on 12-17-2007
JoeAD: Inco.
Michael Rose said 9:56PM on 12-17-2007
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/
Chriss Cazayoux said 8:33PM on 12-17-2007
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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MfS said 10:17PM on 12-17-2007
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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swatch said 10:39PM on 12-17-2007
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.
Harry said 11:10PM on 12-17-2007
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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MfS said 12:28AM on 12-18-2007
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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ak said 6:43AM on 12-18-2007
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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nyleharris said 10:21AM on 12-18-2007
when will TUAW stop posting Forrester's rubbish. Is this McQuivey's "research" again?
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