All Articles Tagged enterprise

Apple’s iPhone Configuration Utility went to 2.0 just after the iPhone itself hit OS 3.0. The iCU is intended to allow system administrators to set up iPhones for use in the corporate environments, namely by creating, maintaining, and distributing configuration files for enterprise devices.

Macworld took a look at the new version and while they like the no hassle upgrade from 1.0, new vertical feature setup, LDAP, CalDAV, and SCEP support, the ability to prevent profiles from being removed by the user, restrictions (like parental controls) including locking out the cameras, and the ability to push out profiles via SCEP, they weren’t as thrilled with the lack of SCEP documentation, and limited LDAP support.

Check out the full article for details and if you’re using iCU 2.0, let us know how it’s working for your enterprise.

Daring Fireball is spot on:

The conventional wisdom at the moment seems to be that the iPhone is only a consumer device, but the conventional wisdom is wrong. Think about all the hospital/medical demos from recent iPhone events, for one thing.

We’ve said for a while here that enterprise and business aren’t constrained to sales forces and corporate messengers. Hospitals are big. Schools are big. Entertainment is BIG. The iPhone, especially with iPhone OS 3.0 and the iPhone 3.0 SDK are formidable tools for deploying mobile devices and applications in a wider range of businesses than perhaps anything previously put on the market.

Wall Street might stay with messengers — every job has its best tool — but while Main Street is considering iPhones, and a lot of businesses on every other street might just be as well.

Check out the 80+ page iPhone OS Enterprise Deployment Guide PDF via Apple.com

Apple Insider has been putting two and two together, based on web content and WWDC 2009 session info and coming up with:

Apple will leverage the popularity of the iPhone to deliver business users new Mobile Access services in Snow Leopard Server to securely deliver corporate email, contact, calendar, and intranet web services to iPhone and iPod touch users far more cost effectively than Microsoft Windows Server.

If you don’t mind Mac-centric geekery, check out the full article. Bottom line, however, is that anything that makes Apple invest more heavily in secure business-focused iPhone features, the better for everyone on all platforms.

Fortune has covered Forrester Research’s latest report “Making iPhone Work In The Enterprise: Early Lessons Learned”. Whiplash-much? After all, it does come on the heels of previous reports including “The iPhone Is Not Meant For Enterprises”, “The Top 10 Reasons Why We Recommend That IT Not Support It”, and “Harold and Kumar Don’t Want an iPhone at White Castle”. Okay, we made that last one up. Barely.

This time the people who were crafting link-bait before there were any links to bait have seemingly decided the best bang for their buck is to pull a 180 and, instead of trouncing the iPhone in enterprise, actually support it. Sure, Apple’s increasing development of the OS, including iPhone 2.x and the upcoming iPhone 3.0 could have something to do with it, but even in IT it’s generally more about the artist than the tools. So to speak.

What does Forrester claim makes the iPhone so suddenly worthy?

• Employees like them. “In this era of Technology Populism, where consumer IT is often better than enterprise IT, it sometimes just makes sense to give employees the freedom to choose the tools they want.”
• They make mobile collaboration easier. “As anybody with experience on both iPhones and BlackBerry will tell you, the Internet feels natural on an iPhone and a like a chore on a BlackBerry.”
• iPhone users need less hand-holding. “All three firms have set up wikis so that employees can support each other. ‘Our early adopters sometimes teach things we’d rather our iPhone users not know, but overall they provide better support than we can,’ said one person we interviewed.”
• They can be cheaper in the long run. “In at least one case, an iPhone adopter found that the data plans for previous mobile devices were more expensive than the consumer plans AT&T is offering for iPhones. This company was able to reset its baseline plan pricing 30% lower for all phones because it supported iPhone.”

For an actual iPhone endorsement, some remaining corporate gotchas, and 3.0 redemptioms, check out Fortune’s coverage or throw $749 at Forrester (if you didn’t just blow that cash on an unlocked iPhone…)

[Thanks to The Reptile for the tip!]

Last year, during the iPhone 2.0 SDK Event, Apple unleashed a slew of enterprise-aimed initiatives. Phil Schiller took the stage to showcase Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync licensing, as well as 802.1x, Cisco VPN, certificates, remote wipe, configuration tools, and more.

Schiller didn’t show up at the iPhone 3.0 Sneak Peek event (not until the apres-Q&A at least), and Apple didn’t announce something as spectacular as Exchange support this year. But was there anything compelling for businesses this time around?

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With record quarters and more money in the bank than… well, many banks, it’s hard to see Apple getting hit by “hard economic times”, but according to CNet, they either are, or are preparing to be:

Sources who wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal confirmed reports by Valleywag and 9to5Mac.com that roughly 50 salespeople were let go by the company for “business and economic reasons,” according to one source. An entire sales group based in Austin, Texas, was let go as well as workers in Cupertino, Calif., where Apple is headquartered. Those affected were given severance packages and the opportunity to apply for other jobs inside Apple.

Hopefully all the workers find those other jobs inside Apple quickly.

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App Store, iPhone gaming, Apple in the enterprise, power saving pointers, ultimate accessories, and more. With Dieter, Chad, Brian, Rene, and special guest Box.net’s Sean Lindo. Listen in!

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The iPhone already supports standards-based POP and IMAP email accounts, and as of 2.0 supports the big-in-business Exchange format accessed via ActiveSync. But much as Microsoft would like to completely own everythat space, there are several competing corporate communication soluting out there, including RIM/Blackberry’s North American powerhouse, Novell’s Groupwise (which I’m still not convinced Chad didn’t just make up…), and of course, good old Lotus Notes.

Well, if you’re in the latter camp, then IBM has some great news for you:

Bring IBM® Lotus® Domino® email, calendar, and contacts to your Apple iPhone. Planned for delivery in 2008 as IBM Lotus iNotes™ software, Lotus Notes data will combine with the flexibility and connectivity of the Apple iPhone. To be built on the time tested IBM Lotus Domino Web Access infrastructure, users will be able to quickly access email, calendars, and contacts through the rich Apple iPhone user experience.

(For some interesting background on this, check out Apple Insider)

Hey, maybe this news, along with some more accurate analysis, will get Gartner to approve the iPhone for slightly less limited enterprise use! Granted, it’s not the “first class experience” Windows Mobile offers, but it does provide significant — and differentiating — value in its own right (wide screen, multi-touch, media, easy to use, easy to develop for, etc.) which may just suit people in some types of businesses just a wee bit better.

But I digress. Anyone out there using Lotus Notes right now? Eager to try it on your iPhone? If so, how does the functionality look to you? Anything killer? Anything a deal breaker? Let us know!

The hits just keep on coming this morning. Next up, TUAW noticed a few new downloads on Apple.com – specifically they’re iPhone configuration utilities that look to be the perfect tool (until there’s OTA setup) for administrators in companies that have deployed iPhones. There’s a web utility for both Mac and Windows and also a more powerful Mac utility. The basic idea here is you set up a simple file (just XML) with certain settings like:

security policies, VPN configuration information, Wi-Fi settings, APN settings, Exchange account settings, mail settings, and certificates

…then you just load the file onto an iPhone and voila, the darn thing is all set up for business. You can head over to http://www.apple.com/support/iphone/enterprise/ for full instructions on how to use the tools.

[Ed: We're bringing back the Wait-a-Thon and making it regular again. Sorry we dropped it off there for awhile, folks. With all those 3G and iPhone 2.0 rumors flying about these past couple of weeks, it almost felt like the release was already here. In the meantime, comment on any post tagged "Wait-a-Thon" for your chance to win a $100 iTunes Gift Card!]

This is not a response to Crackberry.com’s excellent article, Top 10 Reasons Why the iPhone Is NO BlackBerry. Quite frankly, the iPhone doesn’t need a response; it’s the rest of industry that’s so desperately trying to find one to the iPhone.

I don’t know about you, but it’s getting more than a little tiring hearing everyone compare themselves to — and constantly try to rip-off — the iPhone. I can’t surf a website or cruise the main without some claw-handed Crackberry addict, neck-bearded Palm artifact, or frazzle-haired WinMob frustrati glaring and frothing with barely-contained envy at the perfectly balanced, seamlessly integrated, lustfully convergent iPhone held ever-so casually in my grip.

They know the iPhone is beyond cool. Sure, they cling to their once innovative, formerly revolutionary (at least in the case of Palm and RIM) devices, the ones overwhelming nostalgia or massive business infrastructure investment won’t let them slam to the ground and stomp into the call-dropping, web-mangling, constantly crashing oblivion they so richly deserve.

So the comparisons to the iPhone just won’t stop, despite the fact that the iPhone is pretty much incomparable. Don’t believe me? I’ve got ten reasons to back me up. And these aren’t minor feature gripes or personal peccadilloes. In proper Apple fashion, these are just 10 simple little words…

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