John Boudreau of San Jose Mercury News interviewed me for this piece.
http://www.mercurynews.com/businessheadlines/ci_9806363
IPhone 3G has business appeal
Article Launched: 07/07/2008 01:34:18 AM PDT
A year after becoming the stylish pocket PC for consumers, the iPhone is ready to go to work.
The latest version of the mobile device, which goes on sale Friday, will take advantage of a faster wireless network – dubbed 3G for third-generation – making it more attractive for business use by improving what many consider to be the current version’s key flaw – its slow Web access.
Equally important to companies are new e-mail and security capabilities that will give the iPhone a foot in the office. And that has many employees pestering their information technology managers about getting their own corporate iPhone.
Wells Fargo Bank Executive Vice President Steve Ellis is involved with a pilot iPhone project to test its functions and work on integrating it into the company’s vast infrastructure. He said he experiences “iPhone envy” from colleagues, and that hardly a day goes by when he’s not asked about when iPhones will be available to all employees.
The 3G iPhone will be able to sync seamlessly with Microsoft Exchange servers and support Cisco VPN security settings so workers can access sensitive company information. It also will support other applications geared for the corporate world, such as “remote wipe,” the ability to instantly remove data on a device if it is lost or stolen.
The new button-down iPhone will compete with the BlackBerry and Palm Treo as a tool for employees. In the past, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs has said his company
would focus its efforts on the consumer market. But the iPhone’s wide appeal is giving it a place at the workplace without changing its core mission.
“If they focus on the consumer side with just enough functionality to get into the enterprise market, they will sell a lot of units,” said Ken Dulaney, an analyst with Gartner, a research firm.
Rather than stealing share from competitors, the iPhone will expand the market, says independent wireless industry analyst Chetan Sharma. The iPhone could increase the presence of smart-phones in new areas, such as the medical profession. Applications under development could enable doctors to easily access X-rays and other information while visiting with patients, Sharma said.
“It’s going to grow the pie,” he said.
Apple said 35 percent of Fortune 500 companies has participated in the iPhone’s corporate-friendly 2.0 beta software.
Terry Stepien, an executive at Dublin-based Sybase, which makes back-end software that links mobile devices to corporate systems, said his company is getting numerous inquiries about the iPhone. In particular, he’s hearing from financial and manufacturing logistics companies.
“There are people who love these devices who are bringing them in through the back door,” said Sean Ryan, an IDC mobile enterprise research analyst.
“The iPhone works well for those who just need to find information,” he added. “It offers an incredible browsing experience. It’s the best out there.”
But the iPhone’s DNA, Web surfing with a touch screen, does not always fit with the e-mail-heavy business world. Those accustomed to using a keyboard might have a hard time making a switch if they spend a lot of time typing.
While the iPhone will be offered as an alternative at some companies, analysts don’t expect it to threaten the BlackBerry’s dominance among the cubicles. Research In Motion, the maker of BlackBerry devices, aggressively improves its service and relationships with corporate America.
“It’s a gutsy call for IT people to switch,” said Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. “RIM’s been good to them. Why rock the boat?”
In the first quarter of the year, RIM’s BlackBerry took 44.5 percent of the smart-phone market in the United States, while Apple had 19.2 percent, according to research firm IDC’s vendor survey.
The iPhone’s hip aura, while appealing to college students and “creative” professionals, may actually hinder its appeal among the gray suits, Munster said.
“Culturally, it’s hard for some organizations to get their arms around that, giving their employees something they can have fun with,” he said.
But Wells Fargo’s Ellis, who said the bank is building its own iPhone applications to provide services for customers, doesn’t see why technology shouldn’t be fun to work with.
About two decades ago, he helped deploy early PCs at Wells Fargo, a chore that consumed much of his time because their applications came with a steep learning curve.
“If you have a device that allows you to spend 5 percent of your time figuring out how it works and 95 percent of your time doing your work, that’s a good thing,” Ellis said.