Apple is reportedly teaming with Unisys to make its iPhone and iPad lineup more attractive to corporate clients. Should Research In Motion be quaking in its boots?
According to BusinessWeek, Unisys will do the maintenance and other back-end services for governments, education entities and other big businesses which want to use the iPhone or iPad in a corporate environment. The terms of the deals weren’t disclosed but this enables Apple to focus on what it does best: making strong integrated products that are aimed at consumers.
We already know that the Apple iPhone and iPad are seeping into the corporate environment, sometimes with great pains to the IT departments. Unlike RIM BlackBerry and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, the Apple iOS products weren’t created with the same type of high-grade security that big businesses and governments crave.
That’s changing though, as consumers are bringing their own devices into work and want it to access their businesses’ data. In many cases, this can be cheaper for the business because many workers willingly buy their own devices and pay for the plans but there are other costs associated with managing these types of devices.
We’ve heard anecdotal evidence that the Apple iPad is gaining traction in the enterprise market, particularly at the C-level – it makes sense too, as many of these executives just need something light and quick to check e-mails.
Bloomberg said companies are definitely testing Apple iOS products.
The company said last week that the iPhone is being deployed or tested by 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies and the iPad is being used or tested by 65 percent of Fortune 100 companies.
I don’t think it’s time for RIM to call it quits yet, as it really does offer a level of security that Apple cannot easily mimic. That type of security will always be valued by governments and lucrative industries like banking. [Via BusinessWeek]