The iPhone: Why one little gadget matters so much

With its picture gracing the cover of Time’s Nov. 12 “Best Inventions of 2007” issue, the iPhone is undisputed as a technology product that matters to consumers. These days in IT that can mean only one thing — the enterprise is its destiny.

Just as instant messaging and Wi-Fi access migrated from the consumer to the enterprise environment, so too will the iPhone. User enthusiasm for the device, which made its grand debut on June 29, remains high. In a survey of 110 corporate messaging decision-makers, Osterman Research recently found the iPhone is by far the most-requested mobile device by employees. Seventy-two percent of the respondents say employees are asking for iPhone support. The next most-requested device is the Palm Treo platform at 29%.

Suffice to say, the iPhone is a phenomenon that really matters to employees.

The pressure mounts

Nine percent of companies surveyed support the iPhone in their organizations. While small, that's still impressive given the short time the iPhone’s been on the market, says Michael Osterman, president of the research firm. The iPhone stands to gain support in the enterprise from top executives who are early adopters of new technology.

“They’ll go to the IT department and say, ‘I’m using an iPhone now. I need you guys to support it.’ I don’t know of many IT managers who are going to tell the CEO, ‘Sorry we don’t support that,’” Osterman says.

The iPhone pressure already is building at DirecTV, says Erik Walters, manager of sales technical operations for this Enterprise All-Star Award-winning satellite TV service provider.

“I know we have some salespeople who are very intrigued by the iPhone and would love to be able to use it,” Walters says. IPhone’s GPS-enabled map feature has particularly caught the attention of salespeople who visit electronics stores that are DirecTV resellers.

But DirecTV already supports the BlackBerry platform, and it would be up to the network security people to add in the iPhone, he says.