iPhone almost ready for business prime time

21 Mar.

This will open up a huge market for the iPhone
Ken Dulaney Vice president, Gartner

Support for security and enterprise email in the upcoming software upgrade for the iPhone have led Gartner to change its tune on the device’s suitability for the enterprise environment.

Apple unveiled the iPhone in 2007, positioning the handset primarily as an ultra cool consumer device.

This drew concerns from Gartner about inevitable attempts to use the device in the enterprise. However, the upcoming iPhone 2.0 update has persuaded the analyst to make a U-turn.

The software will usher in a number of mobile business essentials, including push-based email, support for virtual private networks, calendar functionality and contact management.