There's no doubting that the iPhone will be a big hit - despite the high price - with consumers. The Apple cachet and the perennial success of the iPod, together with the growing identity of the cellphone as a status symbol, will see to that. But enterprise users are notoriously more demanding, and there's increasing concern from some quarters that for all its usability, innovation and gloss, the iPhone could fall well short of the ideal business handset.
Ken Dulaney, an analyst at Gartner, is the latest high-profile tech consultant to warn security-conscious IT admins away from the Apple cellphone. His warning comes amid talk that, despite Apple solely marketing the iPhone as a consumer device, AT&T obviously have plans to push it to business customers.
Prime among Dulaney's blacklist are the iPhone's lack of firewall, email security or remote disabling/wiping functionality. He also points to the absence of Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes compatibility, and the requirement to build some sort of custom interface should corporate PBX integration be required.
"We’re telling IT executives to not support it because Apple has no intentions of supporting [the iPhone in] the enterprise. This is basically a cellular iPod with some other capabilities and it’s important that it be recognized as such" Ken Dulaney, Gartner
What's certain is that there'll be workers wanting - nay, demanding - the iPhone as a corporate perk, and IT departments are going to face some tricky decisions on to what extent they supply and support it.
[via Digital Arts]
iPhone lacks a firewall? I’m sure we’ll remember that later. Last I checked, OS X had a built-in firewall, they even had to turn it off in the Apple TV to get at it.
Don’t worry about it being used for business – I called AT&T asking if my company’s account is all set to go for iPhone. Turns out, businesses can’t purchase iPhone, only individuals.
So that solves that :)
When they are referring to security for the enterprise, it goes much further than having a firewall. Only novices think that. The big security picture includes everything. Here is but a small list:
o The ability to turn off or otherwise hinder the abilities of the built-in camera.
o The ability of what contacts can be synced. Can you keep certain classified contacts from syncing?
o Can you clear, lock, or otherwise disable the device from afar?
o Can you track usage?
o Can you decide what content *can’t* be passed through the device? (i.e. what websites you can’t go to?)
These are things that can be done using a business-class dingleberry, and these are the security risks involved in using the iPhone – because you can’t do any of that. At least not yet.
While they may say the iPhone is crap because they are comparing it to the level of control a business-class device taken for granted, it’s a load of crap. How many times does at&t have to say it’s not for business? Dragging the iPhone through the mud over these consumer-useless features is like saying a Miati, Solstice, or (insert your favorite two-seater consumer sports car here) is a piece of crap because your business can’t transport 11 people in it like they can inside their business vans.
Get over it business people. Right now it’s a no-go. Maybe later Apple or some other 3rd party will be able to address the business needs with the iPhone, but for not, it’s only for us people that like to buy expensive toys.