Tuesday, July 31,2007 @ 3:25pm
NASA grounds iPhone: not "enterprise ready"
NASA officials have decided that the iPhone is not ready for use intra-office by its astronauts and other employees according to meeting minutes obtained by InformationWeek. Deeming the iPhone not "enterprise ready," Jeff Stephens of NASA's Outsourcing Desktop Initiative (ODIN) reportedly made an announcement that the phone would be barred from the workplace. The minutes did not provide any exact reasoning for the iPhone ban, but did indicate that the BlackBerry 8800 from Research In Motion and the Palm Treo 750 would soon be certified for employee use.
We previously reported that analyst firm Gartner is warning IT managers to avoid integrating the iPhone into their companies, saying that the mobile device is built for personal use rather than the workplace, with most of its e-mail services tailored to individuals and no security measures to guard data on networks or against loss. The device "changes the game" for the average user but is misplaced in offices, according to senior analyst Ken Dulaney. Specific complaints include a lack of Exchange, Lotus Notes, and PBX support.