Edward Kirk
June 16th, 2008, 09:23 PM
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Dispite Apple's announcements that the 2.0 firmware would make the iPhone more business-friendly than ever before, IT managers are still unsure if the device is a good choice for their networks. One of those IT managers is Vivek Kundra, chief technology officer for the District of Columbia. He's currently beta testing 15 first-generation iPhones running the 2.0 software, and he says that the options presented by Apple aren't enough.<!--break-->
One problem lies in scalability. "Right now, using iTunes to download is fine with us," he said. "But when iPhone [use] scales to thousands of units, I want to push software to users wirelessly."?
Similarly, Manjit Singh, CIO at Chiquita Brands International, is concerned that the degree of control Apple has the ability to exert over IT operations is getting in the way of more wide-spread adoption.
"I don't want to be carrier-locked [to AT&T], and I don't want to be forced to distribute apps via iTunes," Singh wrote, adding that having to ask for permission from Apple to install internally developed applications on the iPhone "won't be realistic" for their company.
Other things that could stand in it's way are having to mail devices to Apple to have batteries replaced, the lack of an enterprise tech-support group at Apple, and the fact that management tools for the iPhone are still less developed than those for Blackberrys and other handhelds.
Analyst Ken Dulaney said that, while Apple has completed some big steps to get the device ready for the business world, they still have a ways to go.
[via <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/133979/2008/06/iphone_corporate.html" target="_blank">Macworld</a>]</div>
Dispite Apple's announcements that the 2.0 firmware would make the iPhone more business-friendly than ever before, IT managers are still unsure if the device is a good choice for their networks. One of those IT managers is Vivek Kundra, chief technology officer for the District of Columbia. He's currently beta testing 15 first-generation iPhones running the 2.0 software, and he says that the options presented by Apple aren't enough.<!--break-->
One problem lies in scalability. "Right now, using iTunes to download is fine with us," he said. "But when iPhone [use] scales to thousands of units, I want to push software to users wirelessly."?
Similarly, Manjit Singh, CIO at Chiquita Brands International, is concerned that the degree of control Apple has the ability to exert over IT operations is getting in the way of more wide-spread adoption.
"I don't want to be carrier-locked [to AT&T], and I don't want to be forced to distribute apps via iTunes," Singh wrote, adding that having to ask for permission from Apple to install internally developed applications on the iPhone "won't be realistic" for their company.
Other things that could stand in it's way are having to mail devices to Apple to have batteries replaced, the lack of an enterprise tech-support group at Apple, and the fact that management tools for the iPhone are still less developed than those for Blackberrys and other handhelds.
Analyst Ken Dulaney said that, while Apple has completed some big steps to get the device ready for the business world, they still have a ways to go.
[via <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/133979/2008/06/iphone_corporate.html" target="_blank">Macworld</a>]</div>