Apple Is Pursuing The Business User With The iPhone's Vast Capabilities
July 12, 2011
In the past, when business users needed a smartphone, they (or their company) frequently chose the BlackBerry. RIM, the creators of the device have been on the leading edge in the corporate market, until recently.
The features of the BlackBerry have been attractive to the corporate world by nicely managing email and corporate exchange servers. However Apple is going after these business clients and showing off the “business-savvy” features of the iPhone.
Apple has reportedly taken out a full-page ad on the back of The Economist, which is a prominent business magazine. The ad features the iPhone showing productivity apps such as Bloomberg, Cisco, Oracle, The Economist, and iWork.
At the bottom of the page it states:
The iPhone loves business. With over 425,000 apps, the best phone for apps just keeps getting better.Apple also has a page on their website dedicated to business users. The Apple website expands on the many business friendly features of the iPhone that are available right out of the box, things like: multitasking and FaceTime. The webpage also explains the email integration with Microsoft Exchange, the security of the iPhone, the many existing apps for business, and the opportunities for industry specific application development. This seems like the right time for Apple to get into the business arena. This has not been Apple’s big marketing push over the past few years, but now with the weakening of RIM, they may capture those who are moving away from the boring business phone. In a question and answer session during Apple's 2011 second quarter earnings call, COO Tim Cook stated that 88 percent of Fortune 500 companies are either testing or deploying the iPhone. With the integrative approach of the iPhone and the App Store, Apple believes they have a far better solution than the multi-platform devices found in the Android arena. Lets hope Apple can capture the interest of business smartphone users. Not only will they have access to thousands of apps that will help them be more productive, they may just have a little more fun as well.
