BlackBerry VS iPhone: Contenders But Who Wins Best In Enterprise?
PC World has posted a very interesting article that gives you great perspective and insight. The article is with Chuck Goldman, CEO Apperian defending the iPhone, and Brian C. Reed, CMO and VP Products, Boxtone, Network World who is defending BlackBerry. The article takes you through different perspectives with two different defenders.
So here’s some great information regarding our beloved BlackBerry. There are about 36 million BlackBerry devices being used right now globally and half of those are in enterprise use. BlackBerry is in the lead over the iPhone in use in enterprise, about 17 to 18 million device lead. Some organizations have 5 thousand or more BlackBerry devices and few have more than 50, 000! And let’s face it, BlackBerry is synonymous with the word business as it has become known for its secure and reliable functions in mobility.
They also go over why IT organizations embrace the BES. The closed-loop system is a start, it provides seamless integrated mobile device management and gives comprehensive control to IT via 420+IT policies, OTA push, security control, and a black/white list. The BES is valued for it’s security and its reliability for its employees and company.
The iPhone has no native VPN, no private on-premise ota secure application push, only around 30 IT policies with Active Sync, and limited on-device encryption. Even with third party apps, it would take quite a few for iPhone to even come close to par with the BlackBerry BES.
The BlackBerry was built for speed, benefiting speed typing with the qwerty keyboard, cut, copy and paste quickly from app to app, it can work out of coverage area and run apps and still sync as soon as you have coverage again. BlackBerry also has several third-party business and productivity apps for the device.
The iPhone may be slick, but it cannot compete with the typing portion with lack of the qwerty keyboard for those who are used to it, it lacks the all day power of the BlackBerry, and it needs to be in a great coverage area to function correctly.
Chuck seems to think the iPhone will win in a few years, that Apple is investing in Enterprise support, and that it will ultimately come down to the user. He gives some reasons that seem attainable if they work really hard but there would really need to be changes.
But one of the top ways that I could forsee this as possible is if the iPhone were on other carriers, for coverage support. Coverage with 3G is a well known issue. In reading the article, I find the evidence hard to support that Apple will be able to compete with the coverage as the main focus. Also, encryption and security is another point to consider, how close can they come to the BlackBerry? I would think that Google would stand to be a higher contender than Apple. For several reasons, and coverage is a main issue though some details cannot be discussed.
Apple is trying, but I still see BlackBerry in the lead. And it’s not only because I’m a die-hard BlackBerry user, but also because of coverage and comfortable use of a device. I myself don’t care for a touchscreen, I have to have a qwerty keyboard that I can thumb, a touchscreen drives me crazy. And that’s just the BIS I’m focusing on, the BES is so much more and demands so much more. But we’ll see.
I encourage you to read the article and share your opinions with us. Do you think the iPhone stands a chance? Do  you think it’s possible that Apple will grow?
To read the article iPhone or BlackBerry on PC World, click here >
[via: PC World]
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[...] you great perspective and insight. The article is with Chuck Goldman, CEO Apperian defending the iPhone, and Brian C. Reed, CMO and VP Products, Boxtone, Network World who is defending BlackBerry. The [...]
[...] you great perspective and insight. The article is with Chuck Goldman, CEO Apperian defending the iPhone, and Brian C. Reed, CMO and VP Products, Boxtone, Network World who is defending BlackBerry. The [...]