Ah, June 2007. Apple launched the iPhone, I had an asymmetric bob and Gartner warned Enterprise customers in no uncertain terms that they should keep the handset at arm’s length (note: one of these is untrue). Back then, analyst Ken Delaney suggested that “Apple has no intentions of supporting [the iPhone in] the enterprise. This is basically a cellular iPod with some other capabilities and it’s important that it be recognized as such”; now, with the launch of the SDK and the unveiling of Apple’s resolutely Enterprise-friendly Exchange and VPN functionality, he’s unsurprisingly changed his tune. Gartner are now recommending the iPhone for business customers:
“In its initial release, the iPhone was, with few exceptions, an Internet tablet with browser-based applications as its main offering, however, the release of firmware 2.0 changes that, enabling enterprises to develop local code and create applications that do not depend on network capabilities. The iPhone will thus match up initially in several segments against its main smartphone competitors — BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian Series 60″ Ken Delaney, analyst, Gartner
