iPhone use has doubled in the enterprise since last summer when Apple released the 3GS. The big bump in sales helped Apple post $3.38 billion in profits this past quarter. More than 70% of Fortune 100 companies are now testing the iPhone as their smartphone of choice. A big driver is iPhone’s support for Microsoft Exchange.
The news highlights why Google is planning to launch its next Nexus One as an enterprise device: The corporate market has smartphone fever.
The news also points to the inherent weakness of the RIM Blackberry in comparison to the iPhone and the Nexus One. Touch devices such as the iPhone and the Nexus One are designed for applications and accessing the Web. The Blackberry is designed as a messaging device.
But the enterprise is going through a shift that affects not just what device is used but how the overall organization functions.
That shift is embodied in the deeper commitment to collaboration technologies in the enterprise. As mobile technologies become more robust, the affects across the organization will be seen in a number of ways.
Operations and other non-customer facing tasks will be done more often outside the walls of the corporate office. People will increasingly work at home. Mobile devices will be pretty much required by knowledge workers.
Telepresence will become more predominant. Corporations are investing in unified communications technologies to allow for better video conferencing over any type of device, including smartphones.
Technology providers will need technologies to work across any device. You see this trend beginning to evolve. RIM and IBM announced an integration at Lotusphere last week. Lotus Quickr and Lotus Connections will be loaded onto Blackberry devices. Big Blue is also developing applications for the Android OS to allow for encrypted email, using Lotus NotesTraveler, the IBM technology. Traveler is now available on the iPhone as well.
The Blackberry still has a significant lead over the iPhone, and the Nexus One is but a baby. But Apple and Google’s intentions are pretty clear, and RIM is not blind to the shift, as exemplified with its IBM partnership.
