The iPhone at Work

Unless you've been living under a rock the past seven months, you've no doubt experienced the nationwide phenomenon that is Apple's newest gadget, the iPhone. Piggybacking off the success experienced by the iPod, Apple seems to have once again hit a serious home run in the consumer electronics market. Despite coming up short of analyst estimates, the iPhone did manage to sell more units in the first weekend it was available for purchase than Motorola's wildly popular Razr sold in its first month. Supporters have praised it for its sleek interface and ease of use, while others have berated it for its restrictions, which include its closed platform and exclusive contract with carrier AT&T. Still, others say it lacks sufficient security and complain about the $500-$600 price tag. "They want how much for that thing!?"

While six big ones may seem like a lot to pay for a standard consumer for a cell phone, the iPhone does have several redeeming qualities that set it apart from most cellular devices on the market. The OS X operating system on the iPhone does work quite well on a handheld platform. And though the reviews of the device have been mixed, almost everyone praises the iPhone for its usability and functionality when performing basic tasks, such as surfing the Web and viewing media. In addition, the iPhone is sleek, sexy, and just plain better looking than any other phone on the planet. Throw in some solid PIM tools and the ever popular visual voicemail, and you've got a consumer cell phone that does everything you need to enjoy your personal life and free time.

But in today's world, the need for a device that can do it all has become very apparent. Over the past five to ten years, the U.S. has experienced a convergence of several different devices into "all-in-one" packages. The problem is that it hasn't been done well yet. With the iPhone, Apple has managed to create a usable and versatile phone for the consumer. However, its success as a consumer device has managed to magnify the iPhone's shortcomings in the enterprise arena.

Security, compatibility, and other issues

The greatest concern surrounding the iPhone's enterprise potential is the lack of integration with industry standard systems that use technology from Blackberry creator Research in Motion, Microsoft, and Motorola owned Good Technology Inc. Translation: many iPhone users won't be able to send and receive e-mails through corporate systems. There are options for forwarding messages through third-party services such as AOL or Yahoo mail. However, this process poses a significantly higher risk of security breaches. Additionally, third party services have begun to offer Web-based support of Microsoft exchange. For example, Synchronica's Mobile Gateway 3.0 affords users Microsoft Exchange support on their iPhones. While this may seem like the enterprise fix the iPhone has been waiting for, security concerns once again become an issue.

Many large companies have the ability to use IMAP to synchronize the iPhone with corporate servers. However, while IMAP is a popular e-mail format, it lacks certain encryption levels that make it fully secure for the transmission of confidential company data. Unsecured e-mails, coupled with a lack of firewalls, have both been filed under reasons not to deploy iPhones in the enterprise.

Another security issue is that there is no way to remotely wipe data from the device if it is lost or stolen. There is password protection available, but the feature is a meager means of securing confidential data. The reason remote data removal is such a high concern is that the iPhone itself has a high theft profile—it's high-priced, highly exposed, and in high demand.