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Why the 3G iPhone isn’t ready for the corporate world

Posted June 16, 2008 3:16 AM by Cedric Bosch
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Apple realized a few months ago that tapping into the business market was essential to reaching their goal of 10 million iPhone sales this year. And to give them credit, they’ve done an admirable job of implementing Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, to allow for push email, calendar, and contacts. However, the iPhone still has fundamental issues that will prevent it from being widely accepted in a corporate environment. First of all, the iPhone was built from the ground up as a consumer device. The large display is great for watching movies, but the lack of a keyboard makes it a second-rate emailer and devours battery life. Other features, such as 16GB of memory (the latest blackberry has 1GB) are great for storing movies and music, but serves no corporate purpose and just drives up cost. Finally, the most significant hurdle is that the iPhone was designed to sync with iTunes, an application that has never been seen- nor has a purpose- in the business world. If Apple wants to make the iPhone even slightly appealing to large IT departments worldwide, it needs ditch iTunes and allow the iPhone to be synchronized directly with, and allow applications to be distributed through, Microsoft Outlook. Even then, the iPhone’s hardware issues will prevent it from overtaking players like RIM’s BlackBerry and Nokia in an environment where productivity is the top priority.

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  1. I disagree with you on the point of iTunes and allowing syncing and app distribution through Microsoft Outlook.

    I agree that syncing through iTunes becomes less and less relevant everyday given that iTunes was designed for the iPod. Over times, iTunes synced more and different types of non-music related data such as photos, contacts, etc.

    Apple should reinvent iSync as the hub application for syncing your data to your iPhone. iSync would link to iTunes for syncing music, iPhoto for photos, iCal for calendar, App Store for apps, and so on.

    Then, enterprise will only need to run iSync which will still work without iTunes and the rest.

    Heaven help the day that Apple allows syncing to iPhone through a Microsoft product - you could say goodbye to quick, easy, reliable syncing!

    Posted by Daniel on June 16, 2008 6:24 AM

  2. Some silliness seems to have invaded the thought process.  to control and validate the third party software for the iPhone requires a single authorized source for the downloads.  That is iTunes.
    Mail, calendar and contacts will come directly from the corporate applications.

    Posted by Apple Observer on June 16, 2008 6:26 AM

  3. My kids laught at me with my Crapberry. Its a dreadful phone. They have ringtones, movies, video recording, bluetooth, share files all on a cheap phone and I don’t. I had to pay recently to go to the pearl crapberry just to get a camera !

    Crapberry was great maybe 6 years ago but everybody has passed it since.

    Lack of keyboard. have you ever tried to write a long email on a Crapberry, compared to the delights of the full keyboard on an apple ? Its far far easier to type a mail on iphone than a tiny keyboad where you always type in the wrong letter and have to go back to try and edit it.

    The iphone makes this very very easy.

    Posted by Brian Buick on June 16, 2008 6:31 AM

  4. Nice try IphoneMatters guy, in a couple of years you would have grown into a real thinker and reporter. Just wait and see…

    Posted by Name on June 16, 2008 6:38 AM

  5. This is an interesting opinion, but I do not see how this is relevant to enterprise.
    I love typing on my iPhone, and can type just about as fast on it as on my laptop/desktop.
    What it the problem with iTunes?  It is one place, and many individuals already have accounts.
    I am not thinking these potential issues really will be issues, but I guess we will have to wait and see.

    Posted by Alexandra on June 16, 2008 8:39 AM

  6. Seems kind of silly to me.  Does anyone think Windows was “ready for the corporate world” when it was widely adopted by the same corporate world?

    When the boss says “get me an iPhone and make it work for my email,” that is just what they’ll do.

    And another thing, for the small business that can’t justify their own Blackberry service and for whom the carrier’s blackberry service is too unbusinesslike the iPhone fits the bill quite well.

    BTW: Too much memory is a bad thing and it jacked up the cost of a $200 device?  Please!

    Posted by William on June 16, 2008 8:45 AM

  7. You know iPhone will support device configuration for deployment control.

    http://www.apple.com/iphone/enterprise/integration.html

    Posted by slappy on June 16, 2008 9:48 AM

  8. Can all the great institutes of learning be wrong when they use iTunes to disseminates their lectures to their students.

    Posted by AdamC on June 16, 2008 9:58 AM

  9. While the iPhone’s photo-storage and media-playing capabilities may not have use in many corporate settings (although innovative companies could probably find ways to take advantage of them), individual employees certainly want to take their personal music, photos and movies with them.

    If an employee is expected to carry a company-issued phone in order to be on-call or on-line during their off-hours, it only makes sense choose a phone that includes media capabilities as a convenience.  Otherwise a user would have to carry and juggle multiple devices, perhaps even missing an important phone call because they are listening to their (separate) iPod.

    Issuing an iPhone, rather than a “lesser” phone, is a way for companies to show they care about their employees.  Benefits like this are appreciated and help with employee morale and retention.

    Posted by Brett on June 16, 2008 11:06 AM

  10. Cedric is really an entertainer… 8^)))))))

    Posted by Name on June 16, 2008 1:13 PM

  11. What?  This is all a Red Herring (or is it White).  I disagree.

    Over the air syncing will resolve most of this.  Plus the integration with Outlook and Google Apps.  Apples’ VPN will boost linking inside Corporate firewalls.  All it will take is some forward thinking corporate users.  The storage space can be used by 3rd party apps to save files.

    After 1 year the iPhone is already nipping at RIM’s heals.  Let’s talk in another year.

    Posted by Matthew on June 16, 2008 1:15 PM

  12. totally agree with this article…
    except I think he missed on a few things.. i think typing on the iphone is actually too easy, that encourages people to spend additional time writing non-sense on their iphone.
    and the big, bright screen is bad security risk, cos that allows other people to spy on your screen, don’t let me get on the 3G, with fast connection who knows what these guys will be downloading on their iphones… shhhsh… terrible terrible for enterprises…
    just about everything is wrong on this thing, what was Jobs on when they designed this???

    Posted by ken on June 16, 2008 2:16 PM

  13. The IT department at my job is very restrictive in what they allow us to put on our computers. There is no way they will ever let us put iTunes on our computers. BUT they will allow activesync.

    Are the following assumptions correct with the new iPhone set up?

    1) I will be able to sync mail and contacts with my work computer through activesync

    2) I can set up my home comptuer so it only syncs pictures, musci, and movies.

    Posted by Eric on June 17, 2008 10:43 AM

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