Apple continues to push corporate adoption

The surprisingly rapid adoption of the iPhone and iPad into corporate and enterprise environments is a movement that started with grassroots users, but now that the door has been opened, Apple continues to reinforce the idea. The company has taken out a full-page ad on the back of the latest issue of The Economist, reports MacRumors, spotlighting business apps and the tagline "iPhone loves business."

The ad, titled "Business-savvy," highlights apps such as those for The Economist and Bloomberg, along with Oracle Business Indicators and Cisco's WebEx. At the bottom, the ad also touts the company's own mobile version of the iWork suite, pointedly mentioning the low price of just $10 per app. The ad then says "With over 425,000 apps, the best phone for apps just keeps getting better."

Apple has been making steady headway in its efforts to gain mindshare in the corporate world, and has recently been poaching top sales executives from rival RIM to bolster its enterprise sales force. Apple also has a special iPhone in Business page on its website, offering executives and IT types information on how to integrate iOS devices into existing setups and touting the various enterprise features of the last two major iOS releases. The next release, iOS 5, will include further business features such as support for S/MIME secure e-mail and "pc-free" updating, eliminating the dependence on iTunes for updates and syncing.

COO Tim Cook has been quoted as saying that 88 percent of Fortune 500 companies are deploying or testing the iPhone, and 75 percent doing the same with the iPad. [via MacRumors]

by MacNN Staff