In early March, Apple Inc. held one of its typical splashy media events to announce the June availability of the vendor's most significant update to its iPhone line of smart phones -- the iPhone 2.0 software with "enterprise features" (see the press release here). In its brief existence, the iPhone has generated an enormous amount of publicity, from its initial preview in January of last year, to its arrival last June, to the sudden and dramatic price drop last September (see this previous NRG note). With this announcement of 2.0 software available at the end of June for free to all iPhone users, the PR avalanche began once again.
Despite the obvious appeal of the device to many, its suitability in an enterprise setting was questioned publicly. The most influential tech analyst firm, Gartner, Inc., noted in a June, 2007 research note that, "Because of possible manageability and security issues, organizations should resist general requests from users to admit Apple's iPhone into their corporate environment." Apple's March announcement was aimed at hitting this issue head-on. While there is no way to completely satisfy all observers, the company went a long way in overhauling its image as a corporate maverick.
Apple outright embraces many of the needs of the enterprise
What new features are promised with the 2.0 software -- features that will alleviate Gartner concerns, and more importantly, the concerns of information technology (IT) departments in medium and large enterprise? Top features include:
- Microsoft email support. Love or hate Microsoft Corporation, the vendor's control of the corporate email market is unquestionable. The 1.0 version of the iPhone software relied on standards-based access to mail systems (using POP or IMAP) -- standards that Microsoft Exchange Servers could be configured to support (see the product page here), but that was not the normal practice for most organizations. But with the 2.0 software, Apple said it was licensing Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, which "enables a mobile phone to synchronize email, calendars, tasks, and contacts with Exchange Server over the air" according to Terry Myerson, Microsoft corporate VP for Exchange (see his Q&A release here).
There was some concern that Exchange support would be just for email -- a legitimate concern for many Apple customers who bemoan Microsoft's limited Exchange support for its own email client, Entourage. But those fears seem unjustified. According to Apple, the "iPhone will connect out-of-the-box to Microsoft Exchange Servers 2003 and 2007 for secure over-the-air push email, contacts, calendars and global address lists." - A real software development kit (SDK). The original iPhone announcement famously not only did not include news of an SDK, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs went so far as to imply that one was not necessary. For example, when the iPhone was officially released, he focused on Web-based development (see the release here): “Our innovative approach, using Web 2.0-based standards, lets developers create amazing new applications while keeping the iPhone secure and reliable.” But a little over six months later, the CEO displayed a major philosophical, 180-degree mind shift when he said, "We’re excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community with potentially thousands of native applications for iPhone and iPod touch."
The SDK (see its page here) will enable developers to access the most interesting features of the iPhone, not just standard application programming interfaces (APIs). For example, developers will be able to hook into touchscreen features, as well as the animation capabilities built into the operating system. But would the SDK prove popular? In a March 12 release, the company noted that there had been 100,000 SDK downloads in four days. - Batch management, remote wiping, and secure access options. IT organizations manage hundreds or thousands of devices, and they won't bother with a product that requires each individual device be configured on its own. With the 2.0 release, Apple is adding batch configuration capabilities. With sensitive corporate data on cell phones, IT is also hesitant to support devices that -- when lost or stolen -- can't have their memory and storage wiped clean remotely. The 2.0 version of the software will offer this feature, too. In addition, the software will include Cisco IPsec virtual private network (VPN) software that will enable the device to create an encrypted, secure connection to corporate networks, another requirement for many corporate devices.
Was the world impressed? While the typical firestorm of a debate about the merits of the 2.0 software raged across tech media and community blog sites, Gartner certainly felt different. In mid-March, a research note from the firm noted, "Gartner recommends 'appliance-level' support status once firmware 2.0 and improvements are released." Apparently, at least some in Stamford thought the changes were substantial.
Not everyone was impressed
There were plenty of commentators who thought the SDK and the developer program was not as good as portrayed in the media. Digging into the software and the accompanying restrictions, they started pointing fingers at Apple. While third-party developers debated issues like whether getting 70% of revenue from software hosted and sold by Apple is fair, corporate developers focused on:
- The App Store requirement. Many in the media and industry incorrectly reported that corporations would have to make their software available in a single, public App Store. However, Apple promises that organizations "will be able to create a secure, private page on the App Store accessible only by their employees."
- Development limitations. Debate within the development community -- and those with an opinion, but not the developer skills -- analyzed the limitations of the SDK. Both Sun Microsystems and Adobe executives said they were confident they could get their technologies -- Java and Flash -- on the iPhone with the release of the SDK, but both had to back down when it became apparent that those types of applications -- virtual machines and alternative programming environments -- would not be supported with the initial SDK.
Despite these concerns, the major shift in emphasis of iPhone 2.0 towards enterprise needs will ensure that IT can't ignore the iPhone.
The result: Users will have more support, and IT will learn to live with -- if not love -- the iPhone
For IT, new iPhones and all existing models updated to the 2.0 software will generate more demand for iPhone support. For organizations as a whole, the new software and SDK will:
- Make it easier for employees to use the iPhone at work. Some workers had already been using an iPhone, but adding the enterprise features and gaining support of firms like Gartner mean that iPhone users will have less hoops to jump through. IT will still have reasons to keep iPhones out of some environments, but the list of reasons will have shrunk considerably. And if developers in the organization start to build custom iPhone software, the trickle of iPhones may become a flood.
- Expose developers to the Mac OS technology. The SDK will put Apple's iPhone development environment, APIs, and built-in features in front of many non-Apple developers. Even with a free integrated development kit (IDE) included with Apple computers, the vendor still couldn't convince developers to create software for an operating system with a relatively small market share. But the iPhone owns a much larger share of the smart phone market, and many corporate developers and their bosses will find the cost of entry into this market is not to high -- $299 for the Enterprise Program SDK license and $1000+ for an Apple laptop or tower (the SDK will only run on an Intel-based Mac running the latest version of Apple's operating system, Leopard).
- Demonstrate that smart phones don't need another server. The Blackberry has been the gold standard of corporate mobile communication devices -- not necessarily because users love the various device form factors and user interfaces, but because it connected to Exchange servers and enabled wireless email. But the trick is that those devices require a separate server component -- the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (Blackberry is actually a product of Research In Motion Limited; see the product page here). With the release of the 2.0 software, Apple intends to make it even simpler to connect an iPhone to Exchange than a Blackberry. And in the process, it will demonstrate to IT that additional servers are not necessary -- a bleak prospect for RIM.
By: Tom Rhinelander
