Yeah, Apple's
According to a new survey sponsored by Good Technology, a maker of secure messaging software for handhelds, 79% of 300 IT directors surveyed (200 in the U.S., 100 in the U.K.) say their employees would prefer to use their own devices to access corporate networks than company-issued devices. Their overwhelming choice -- 82% of those surveyed -- was the iPhone.
No one else was close, but Microsoft's
Nokia's
Research In Motion
That could be worrisome for RIM. If the theme of the survey is that users prefer their own devices to the corporate standard, do the results mean the BlackBerry's being replaced? I wouldn't go that far; RIM's recent earnings results still show far too much growth.
But the iPhone is growing mightily, too. Apple CEO Steve Jobs told those gathered for last week's iPod announcements that the company had sold more than 30 million iPhones to date. Many of them, apparently, are making their way into enterprises, and IT managers are making do -- even with 28% of respondents reporting security breaches because of unauthorized device use within the enterprise.
That leaves CIOs and IT managers with two choices: Either ban unauthorized use, or figure out how to better secure the iPhone. Expect them to choose the latter.
Get your clicks with related Foolishness:
- Palm wants to sell you a $99 smartphone.
- How Chinese iPhones might change Apple's world.
- Watch out! The iPhone is exploding!