iPhone大举进军公务手机市场

Consumers around the globe will wait on long lines Thursday to get their hands on the newest iPhone, but far from the sidewalk frenzy, Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) smartphone is making inroads with business customers.

Companies like Bausch & Lomb Inc. (BOL) are buying iPhones for their employees, in some cases replacing BlackBerry devices. Earlier this year, the eye-care products company made iPhone the standard issue device for its sales force. Now, about 1,200 salespeople have one.

Research In Motion Ltd.'s (RIMM) BlackBerry has long been the standard-issue smartphone for businesses, largely because RIM made it easy for corporate technology departments to manage and secure its devices. Information-technology professionals dismissed the iPhone as a toy, and many banned it from their companies outright.

But while BlackBerrys are still the most popular corporate device, with 70% of IT departments currently supporting the gadget, about 29% of businesses now support the iPhone, up from 17% last year and none in 2007 when the iPhone first launched, according to Forrester Research.

One catalyst is that employees are clamoring for iPhones, even if they have to pay for all or part of it themselves. AT&T Inc. (T) CEO Randall Stephenson said in an interview last week that about 40% of its iPhones are sold to companies or individuals with corporate discounts.

AT&T said its salespeople aren't pushing the iPhone above the BlackBerry or other devices, but the carrier has taken steps to make the iPhone attractive to companies, including providing tools to build iPhone apps for homegrown software.

Bausch & Lomb adopted the iPhone because of the device's ability to access spreadsheets and contact-management software, although getting locked into AT&T's network in the U.S. was a negative, said Simon Woods, vice president for technology and applications.

Apple said in January that 70% of Fortune 100 companies were testing or deploying iPhones. While Apple's marketing remains focused on consumers, Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said in January the company has added 'sales staff to assist the carrier staff in selling the iPhone in several of the major geographies.' Apple declined to comment further.

Microstrategy Inc. (MSTR), which makes business-intelligence software, plans to deploy more iPhones to employees and only replace BlackBerrys when they break. The company has 1,000 BlackBerrys and 400 iPhones, including 200 purchased by employees.

Asked whether it was concerned by the encroachment of other devices like the iPhone in businesses, RIM Vice President Tyler Lessard said, 'We see other vendors coming in there but we keep expanding too.' He added that RIM, which reports quarterly earnings Thursday, was also rapidly growing its consumer business.

The iPhone 4, which goes on sale in the U.S. and four other countries Thursday, will include a few more sops to IT departments, such as the ability to distribute software wirelessly and more security features.