The Verizon iPhone's Impact on the Enterprise

The Phone Locker Blog (Feb 11 2011)

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   There's been rumors, speculation, and wild hopes about the iPhone arriving on Verizon ever since Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in January of 2007. Today that idea became a reality as the first Verizon iPhones landed in the hands of customers around the country. 

    

   It's easy to see the advantage of having the two largest mobile carriers offering the iPhone for the average consumer and for Apple, which stands to gain millions of new iPhone users over the coming months.  What isn't so obvious is the potential impact on the iPhone in the workplace, particularly in larger enterprise organizations where iPhone penetration may have been limited or non-existent.

    

   While it might be easy to claim that a Verizon iPhone won't have any measurable impact in enterprise environments (or even in small- to medium-sized businesses), the truth is that there are two major ways in which Verizon offering the iPhone could easily contribute to increased business use of the device in this count:

   1.      The traditional business-smartphone model where an organization purchases the handsets and adds them to a business plan.

   2.      The ongoing consumerization of IT where users are encouraged to bring their own devices into the workplace.

    

   The first scenario may have the larger measurable effect.  When companies are in charge of device selection and usage, they often work with a single carrier wherever possible.  That enables somewhat simplified billing, allows a company to ensure all users have the same carrier experience, and often translates into discounts on large purchases of both devices and service.  Companies relying on this model are also likely to choose a carrier that has reliable service in the areas where its employees will be working (in some cases this is very specific to a set of worksites, and in others I may mean a broad geographic region where facilities, customers, and employee homes are all located).

    

   AT&T has taken a lot of heat for the reliability of its network and services ever since the launch of the iPhone 3G when high data use overloaded its network, particularly in major cities like New York and San Francisco.  AT&T may have built up its network capacity in the intervening years, but the company's reputation still hasn't recovered.  Likewise, the carrier consistently ranks as the worst customer service experience of all four major U.S. carriers.  That impacted how many companies were willing to sign on with AT&T for service in general.  It also reduced the chance that companies would switch to AT&T just because of employee demand for the iPhone. 

    

   With Verizon now offering the iPhone, we can expect that companies already invested with Verizon for services will begin to consider the iPhone.  Some companies might even be willing to consider switching to Verizon (or adding Verizon contracts to their mix of mobile carriers) to meet employee demand. 

    

   The fact that Apple introduced significant improvements to iOS device manageability this summer will also be a factor here.  With the appropriate management solutions and iOS 4, the iPhone now ranks significantly higher than either Android or Windows Phone 7 when it comes to available options for provisioning devices and policy enforcement.  In fact, many IT professionals acknowledge that the iPhone's management capabilities are now second only to RIM's BlackBerry.

    

   On the BYOD (bring your own device) front, having Verizon as an option will also have an impact, though it may not be as easy to spot.  Many employers are now encouraging employees to use their own mobile devices as it reduces employer costs for mobile services.  Some companies opt to offer incentives, while others simply allow employees to connect to services from their personal devices.  Either case may include varying levels of management over devices. 

    

   The sheer increase in U.S. iPhone owners that a Verizon option will create will obviously bleed into companies that adopt a BYOD policy.  The reasons for choosing a Verizon iPhone are numerous and have been well discussed over the past weeks and months.

    

   One impact beyond the general consumer-oriented reasons for choosing an iPhone on Verizon will also apply here: corporate IT guidelines.  When a BYOD policy is implemented, most companies also select the devices or platforms they are willing to support or even allow into the workplace.  This can mean specific device models, but often translates to specific releases of a mobile OS that offer acceptable security and/or manageability capabilities.  With the iPhone being more secure and manageable than some competing platforms, it's reasonable to expect that some companies will make a concerted effort to encourage users to pick an iPhone.  That could further increase both Verizon iPhone adoption in the workplace as well as in general.

    

   It's too soon to see exactly what ultimate impact a Verizon iPhone option will have on businesses.  With the possibility that both end users and IT departments may wait until a summer release of a new iPhone or be tied up in current contracts for the immediate future, it's likely that initial numbers won't be indicative of the overall long term impact.

    

   - Ryan Faas

    

   Ryan Faas is a freelance technology journalist and network consultant who has been writing about Apple products, business and enterprise IT topics, and the mobile industry for over a decade. His most recent book is "The iPhone for Work" published by Apress.  You can find more information about his published works and consulting services at www.ryanfaas.com orfollow him on Twitter @ryanfaas.

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