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April 14, 2009
Report: iPhone Emerging As a Business Device
By Michael Dinan, TMCnet Editor
Companies should plan ahead of time for changes in their culture, IT support and provisioning as the iPhone is introduced as a business device, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research firm says in a new report.
Officials at Forrester Research, Inc. say in their new report – a 13-page document that costs $749 – that companies such as Kraft Foods and Oracle (News - Alert) believe that the device from Apple Inc. would be useful in their offices.
“We share their insights here and pull out their early lessons to help you build the case for supporting iPhone (News - Alert) in your enterprise,” Forrester officials say.
Those lessons include: it’s not just another device; it drives cultural changes in businesses; it gives workers freedom to choose their own tools; and it changes support models to self-service.
“But the real payoff of iPhone and similar mobile Internet devices is that it is a new platform for delivering content and collaboration applications to an increasingly mobile workforce,” Forrester (News - Alert) officials say.
The trend toward a more mobile workforce – a migration that’s only expected to increase as 3G networks evolve toward more robust 4G models – is also raising security concerns.
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As TMCnet recently reported in an interview here, officials with the world’s largest maker of computer networking gear – San Jose-based Cisco Systems Inc. – say “bad guys” are seizing on new opportunities.
Scott Pope, a senior manager for Cisco’s wireless security product management, told TMCnet that many enterprises fool themselves into thinking that WiFi (News - Alert) Protected Access 2, or “WPA2” – a security method that’s designed to assure people that only authorized users can access their wireless networks – is all they need to protect themselves from attacks.
In fact, Pope told us, WPA2 does cannot address hackers who enter a network from rogue access points, denial-of-service attacks, user authentication and data encryption cracking methods or network reconnaissance.
“The notion of a security perimeter doesn’t really exist anymore,” he said. “Whether it is corporate WLAN, the telecommuter or the dual-mode phone in someone’s pocket, you have wireless signals that go through walls of offices and homes to contend with and secure. That means a cyber-criminal no longer has to be ‘on your network’ – they can instead try to attack what is floating across the air in the wireless environment.”
Interestingly, Pope also said that because the mobile worker may be telecommuting or have these handheld devices that the IT department doesn’t manage, companies now have a new frontier of off-the-IT-grid infrastructure to consider from a security perspective.
“This is fertile ground for cyber-criminals because they can often have lower defenses,” he said.
For its study, Forrester says it interviewed two vendors and three user companies, including Apple (News - Alert), Kraft Foods, Notify Technology, Oracle, and a California-based pharmaceutical company.
According to Jim Dalrymple of Macworld.com, the news in Forrester’s report – that companies view the iPhone as a business device – is a major boon for Apple, as early reports were that the gadget didn’t have enough security for larger businesses.
Todd Stewart, IT senior director at Amylin Pharmaceutical, reportedly told Dalrymple that the iPhone has become the company’s “enterprise netbook.”
“It took all of three days to get the systems running to support iPhone. We also saw significant costs savings for our voice and data plans by moving to iPhones,” Stewart reportedly said.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
Michael Dinan is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To read more of Michael's articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by Michael Dinan
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