Forrester now recommends iPhone for business
Previously the research firm had said Apple’s handset wasn’t suitable because it wasn’t what business users said they wanted. Yet more evidence of the consumerization of IT, or has Forrester adjusted their hearing aid a twist?
Forrester has published a new report that says, quite contrary to their earlier stated opinion, that the iPhone is “more than just another device; it drives business culture change; it gives employees freedom to choose their own tools; and it changes the support model to self service.” Though a big change of heart for the researcher, this is a familiar theme to regular Blorge readers.
The trend, known as the “consumerization of IT” (CIT), represents a major change of heart on the part of IT managers, notorious for the stodgy “stick in the mud” attitude toward anything new, especially when it came to Apple products.
Blorge has your CIT coverage
— Apple poised for big enterprise growth?
— For the iPhone, the enterprise beckons
— Consumerization of IT favors the Mac
— Government getting hip to the Mac
— Jobs, Johnson, key executives gain security clearances
— Survey says 74 percent of enterprises to add Macs
— Poor iPhone security a barrier against business use?
— Mac enterprise users have oversize support impact?
Further, as corporate budgets are increasingly strained, IT managers have been forced to look afield for right solutions that fit the job rather than a particular mindset. For example, in snippets of the report quoted by MacNN, enterprises are coming to recognize that “consumer IT is often better than enterprise IT” and “[t]he Internet feels natural on an iPhone and like a chore on a BlackBerry,” helping to promote collaboration and sharing.
However, one IT professional’s mea culpa quoted by Forrestor really brings home the point about the advantages of Apple products, “Our early adopters sometimes teach things we’d rather our iPhone users not know, but overall they provide better support than we can.”
Been there. Done that. Thank you, whoever you are, for finally saying it out loud! So, yes, iPhone (and Mac) users can be a pain in the buttocks, but the equation is just a little richer than that and often comes out in the company’s favor…
What’s you take?
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April 15th, 2009
Like someone at work said, “If Apple’s Airport router had Cisco’s name on it, it’d sell for a thousand dollars.”