A full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal is the latest indication that Apple is trying to push further into the enterprise market. With Goldman Sachs analysts reporting that 17 percent of the segment plans to support the iPhone, Apple appears ready to begin courting potential business customers. The Journal offers significant exposure, with daily business news coverage circulating to millions of readers. The ad, appearing in the November 20 edition, reads, "With the iPhone's 3G speed, enterprise support, and hundreds of amazing business apps from the App Store, it's no wonder J.D. Power and Associates ranked Apple 'Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Business Wireless Smartphones.'"
The ad refers to J.D. Power and Associates’ second annual survey of smartphone users, which found the iPhone leading by a substantial margin, scoring 778 on a 1000-point scale, well ahead of industry leaders BlackBerry (703) and Samsung (701) - the industry average was 681. The survey cited the iPhone's high performance, ease of operation, physical design and handset features as contributing factors to the ranking.
Many of the improvements introduced with the iPhone version 2.0 software update have expanded the list of enterprise features. The handset now supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, allowing it to deliver calendar information, contacts and push e-mail. Users can now securely access corporate information via Cisco IPSec VPN, while keeping wireless connections protected with WPA2 Enterprise support and 802.1x authentication.The iPhone also handles business identities and certificates, another detail that positions the device to compete with RIM for the enterprise market.
Image via CNET, capture of Apple's ad in the Wall Street Journal
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