[slapppy]

I just read a disturbing article from TechRepublic. A survey they just produced on the site shows 73% of IT departments will not support iPhone. So to me, even with native Exchange support, the powers that control IT is still going to be an big uphill battle for Apple to convince.

[Jon Seff]

Hardly a 'disturbing' article. By the author's own admission this is not a scientific poll, and it talks about how many IT departments currently support the iPhone not how many WILL support it.

[smax013]

slapppy said:

I just read a disturbing article from TechRepublic. A survey they just produced on the site shows 73% of IT departments will not support iPhone. So to me, even with native Exchange support, the powers that control IT is still going to be an big uphill battle for Apple to convince.

Welcome to the world (fifedom) of IT droids.



It has long been that IT departments will only support what they want to support. They usually only like to support one "thing" in an area (i.e. one word processor, one spreadsheet, one OS, one mobile smartphone device) as it makes their life easier. Who cares what their "clients" (i.e. people using the software, hardware, and such) want.



Having worked as an IT droid at one point in my past, I can understand it...to a small degree. There is some validity to trying to minimize the number of different devices & software packages you have to support. But, while I can understand it to some degree, I personally don't agree with it.

[slapppy]

I really hope your right. I have an iPhone and I want to use it for my job, but our IT/CIO is steadfast with BB only when I asked about using it for work if I Exchange was supported. I told them that Apple is incorporating this in June. So even if its not scientific, there is some validity in it.

[slapppy]

{quote}It has long been that IT departments will only support what they want to support. They usually only like to support one "thing" in an area (i.e. one word processor, one spreadsheet, one OS, one mobile smartphone device) as it makes their life easier. Who cares what their "clients" (i.e. people using the software, hardware, and such) want.{quote}

You explained it better. Yes thats the issue. I hope Apple can convince them somehow that it can be incorporated with existing BB/Exchange set up. Which a majority of business use right now.

[Jon Seff]

Thew new iPhone software isn't even coming out for three month. It seems silly to say that the current state of things represents what the future will hold as well. Apple's answer to IT previously was "turn on IMAP and it'll work with your corporate servers" -- that's not going to be the case much longer.


And remember, the iPhone is a cool toy that executives might want. When they get a new device, IT is forced to support it :)

[slapppy]

I'm hoping that a big wig at work will get one like you say. :-)

[smax013]

slapppy said:

You explained it better. Yes thats the issue. I hope Apple can convince them somehow that it can be incorporated with existing BB/Exchange set up. Which a majority of business use right now.

Even if the Exchange "plugin"/"function" of the iPhone is easy as pie to impletment and support, you will still fine a LOT of IT folks who won't want to support an iPhone. This is because they would still have another device (the iPhone itself with its built in software/issue as well as syncing issues with computers, which also means dealing with iTunes "support"/issues) to support. This is the same reason you see resistance to Macs. All the arguements about integrating Macs into Windoze dominated networks/systems have basically long gone away, but there is still the fact that a Mac is another hardware platform with anoher OS and it whole set of programs that IT would have to support if users in the company were to use Macs.



I encounter this with my company. They support Blackberries...but I like my Palm Treo 755P and have ZERO desire for a Blackberry. I don't both to ask for them to try to get work email to my Palm (OK, I did ask if they could just forward my mail to a specific personal account, fully expecting them to tell me to go jump in a lake...which they did) to work with either the Exchange server or the Blackberry system (there is Palm software to do that kind of stuff). I just live without my work email being on my Treo...but I am kind of in a unique working situation where I largely work from home and thus do my own IT support for most of my stuff (which is why I can use a MacBook Pro...plus the fact that Parallels allows me to run my Windoze only structural engineering programs).

[slapppy]

LOL.. you keep discouraging me more and more. Still I will give it a shot when the time comes. ;-)

[smax013]

slapppy said:

LOL.. you keep discouraging me more and more. Still I will give it a shot when the time comes. ;-)

It certainly never hurts to ask...worst they can do is tell you to go jump in a lake! ;)



Personally, I have found it feels more like this for me: !http://forums.macworld.com/legacyimages/
1! or !http://forums.macworld.com/legacyimages/
1! or !http://forums.macworld.com/legacyimages/
1! ...so I just don't do it anymore! !http://forums.macworld.com/legacyimages/
1!

[rahlgren]

I work at meetings for several large corporations, and I've seen quite a few upper management people with them, so it won't take too long

[slapppy]

Your lucky!!!! I hope it happens for me also.