Corporates have always been a keen critic to the very renowned device called iPhone. This product of apple is known for its elegant and smooth look which pleases the eyes of its user. However, if we ask corporate tycoons about the usability of this device in their routine, we get to know that it makes no sense to them. According to them, the device contains some flaws, a few security issues and not enough efficiency to support corporate requirements. Blackberry on the other hand, is the favorite in business due to its strongest encryption scheme, which practically no can intrude.
Apple's iOS devices were made for technically unsophisticated users, who were less sound with technology than other users but had a huge budget to purchasing a mobile phone. However, with the release of most awaited iPhone 5 with iOS 6, Apple claims that the iPhone will soon prove its utility even for corporates and enterprises. According to Apple, several additions have been made to make the iPhone a better option for corporate users. Some are explained below:
- Advanced Admin controls: Users can customize their device for absolute or desired level of privacy and access. User can block games, share and store photos with the click of a button, iMessage, iBookStore, in order to prohibit someone to access the phone using network. Unnecessary apps can be blocked from installation, in case Enterprise Mobility is being practiced using iPhone.
- Guided access or App Lock: This can be mentioned as the biggest addition in the new release of iOS, the feature called Guided access or App lock, as feature do not allow the user to go to the home screen rather he's locked to a single app. It could be beneficial for security purposes as the phone will be locked to a single application and the intruder will not be able to access any other application since he has been restricted to go “home”.
- Supervised mode: This mode lets an iPhone administrator change phone settings at setup time. Phone configuration can be altered so that when an employee is allocated the phone, he cannot perform unnecessary actions. Periodic wipe-outs can be scheduled so that all the data in the phone can be erased at scheduled time and date, in case when phone would be handed-over to another worker.
- Office Applications support: New iPhone has been provided with the support for various business applications like MS office, Google Docs, PDFs etc. so as to allow users to carry their documents in hand.
The new iOS 6 can support various business intelligence applications like SAP Business Objects to allow a user to transform his business data for better understanding and decision making capabilities. Support for various applications which supports enterprise mobility is an add-on. Applications like SalesForce Mobile, Oracle mobile Sales Assistant can easily be accommodated in device memory.
With the introduction of the concept of BYOD or Bring-your-own-device, there is quite a high probability that iPhones will soon become the part of active businesses. The reason for the same can be that iDevices are more popular among users due to their fancy look and multifunctional capabilities making more users deploy the device.