Even after the March preview and July release of the 'business-friendly' iPhone 2.0 software, it seems that most iPhones are being purchased by individuals rather than corporations, who still look to RIM's BlackBerry first when it comes to equipping their workers with mobile computers.
But the iPhone is fighting a guerrilla war in the business world, thanks to adoption by influential executives, chief information officers rethinking their approach to deploying technology, and younger workers who move seamlessly between their personal and business lives.
There are several high-profile businesses, such as Genentech and Disney (both with strong ties to Apple chief executive Steve Jobs), that have declared their intention to work with Apple on deploying iPhones inside their corporations. That seems to be having the effect of increasing the overall number of business smartphone users, however, rather than turning the iPhone into any kind of 'BlackBerry killer'.
At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Jobs said 33 percent of Fortune 500 businesses had participated in Apple's beta programme for the iPhone 2.0 software. But RIM still dominates the market for mobile devices used for business purposes.
According to data released in September by J Gold Associates, 65.5 percent of North American businesses that deploy mobile computers actively support the BlackBerry, compared with 22 percent that support Windows Mobile devices and just over 10 percent that support the iPhone.
There is some overlap in those numbers, represented by companies such as Chicago law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, a participant in Apple's beta programme.
About half of chief information officer Andy Jurcyzk's 1,800 employees worldwide use some kind of mobile device, and at the moment, 200 of those users are using the iPhone 3G. Sonnenschein's employees that use mobile computers can get the company to buy them a new mobile device every 24 months, provided that AT&T carries that device.
"My philosophy is that devices are personal, and it's difficult for organisations to standardise on a single device [given the wide range of preferences people have with mobile computers]", Jurczyk said.
Obstacles to iPhone adoption
Not all organisations feel the same way, having built up years of expertise managing the BlackBerry inside their walls. Frank Gillman, chief technology officer for Los Angeles law firm Allen Matkins, said there has been some interest in the iPhone among his constituents but he finds it more cost-effective to stay a BlackBerry shop.
"Our reasons for not doing so have more to do with the age-old issue of having a finite number of internal resources to support our firm's technology. Given our already significant investment in BlackBerry, we cannot make a strong business case for adopting yet another platform," Gillman said.
Read this
Photos: Cracking open Apple's iPhone 3G
Investigating the inner workings of Apple's smartphone...
That's just part of the uphill battle that the iPhone faces in the enterprise. For one thing, Apple's dependence on a single carrier is a non-starter for some companies that have long existing relationships with a different carrier, and enjoy the discounts that come along with that partnership.
Also, while Apple's 2.0 software update brought along several business-friendly features that improved the security and manageability of the device, some analyst firms that advise chief information officers on how to spend their technology dollars still feel the iPhone's security isn't quite what it should be compared with other options in the market. Gartner gave the iPhone a thumbs-up in August, after the release of the 2.0 software, but noted that iPhone security isn't strong enough yet when it comes to custom applications on the device.
Jurcyzk is following the recommendations of J Gold Associates by having his employees access secure corporate data through the iPhone's Safari browser, backed by the firm's own security certificate. That way, no sensitive data actually resides on the device, but users can still open documents and view them with "full fidelity", which is a huge plus for travelling lawyers who need to review documents with clients anywhere and everywhere, he said.
There's also the fact that corporations will have to install iTunes on every iPhone user's computer, which might not be part of the standard application list employed by big conservative corporations. Some IT managers also like to lock down…
