Newsflash: Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has been eating Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM) lunch in the consumer market.
OK, that may not actually be news to you, but what is news is that the iPhone has just scored a major win in RIM's home court. It's a shift that Forrester Research saw starting late last year, even switching its own long-held stance that Apple devices now deserve some respect in the enterprise after years of "prohibition."
On Apple's most recent conference call, CFO Peter Oppenheimer said, "Nearly all of the top companies in the Fortune 500 now approve and support iPhone on their networks. This includes companies in markets such as financial services, consumer products, transportation, healthcare and insurance."
The newest victory is oilfield-service giant Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), which has said that it will be transitioning from BlackBerrys to iPhones over the next couple years, according to Apple Insider. Halliburton did "significant research" on iOS along with Google's (Nasdaq: GOOG) Android before making its pick. It chose iOS due to what it viewed as better capabilities and security for its own internal apps.
How big of a win is it for Cupertino? Among its roughly 70,000 employees, Halliburton currently has about 4,500 company-issued BlackBerrys that will be getting the boot. That's a big switch for a company who has always banned Macs. Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) Windows Phone was previously the only non-BlackBerry option, while BlackBerrys had been in use within Halliburton for over a decade.
Apple's enterprise potential is one of the reasons why Apple is still a buy; there are still plenty of growth markets to tap. The massive enterprise market in particular is still dominated by Microsoft and RIM, and Apple is just now making headway. Contrary to what fellow Fool Anders Bylund contends, I don't believe Apple is peaking by any means.
The mobile revolution that we're in the midst of will leave no stone unturned, and that includes the enterprise. While Apple may be at the forefront, there's another company that has an inside track in tapping the next trillion-dollar revolution. This company is positioned to capitalize on both the mobile revolution and China's breakneck growth. Is there any more you could ask for? Get our special report now -- it's free.
