There have been several conflicting reports on the suitability of the iPhone for the enterprise, even with Apple’s enterprise portfolio of features in the iPhone 2.0 software. Gartner looked at OS X iPhone 2.0 and sized up its readiness according to a set of minimum requirements and found the iPhone to be "ready for the enterprise".

The report, written by Gartner’s Ken Dulaney, and obtained by iPO had these key findings:

• The iPhone meets our minimum requirements and can be moved to the appliance- support level, which means support is limited to a narrow set of applications, such as voice, e-mail, personal information manager (PIM) and browsing.
• The iPhone can be wiped clean via the issuance of a standard instruction from Exchange, and can force the use of a complex password if the alphanumeric setting is checked on the Exchange 2003 SP2 or 2007 administrative console.
• Our tests of the complex password and the "wipe feature enforcement" indicate that the iPhone reacts the same as a Windows Mobile device, forcing the use of a complex password and clearing the device contents when the password policy is violated.

The report noted that even though iTunes must be deployed on the end user desktop because it plays a key role in enterprise management and security, Apple offers the ability for IT managers to control which functions iTunes can perform. [Note: Ryan Faas at Computerworld has written a detailed report on how to use the OS X iPhone Configuration Utility to lock down and configure various functions of the iPhone in accordance with enterprise policies.]

On the security side, the report noted that "The iPhone only implements four of the up to 46 Exchange security policies depending on the Exchange version ... If an enterprise is using any of these extensions, then it must reconcile the downgrade of these policies if deploying the iPhone."

Mr. Dulaney also wrote: "...in tests conducted by Gartner contacts, we have discovered that the product works via an unencrypted, distributed XML file which could be changed by the end user. Apple indicates that the profiles can be signed, warning the user of their legitimacy, but the most trusted management tools don’t empower the user to make these types of security decisions. We would like to see this application become a formal product and expanded to support the management and security features found in RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server and in Microsoft’s System Center Mobile Device Manager."

In the remainder of the nine page report, Mr. Dulaney delved into some of the technical issues and inconveniences IT managers may want to consider: Battery Life, handling of attachments compared to the BlackBerry, calendar and e-mail problems, lack of cut-and-paste, and emergency dialing operations. On the positive side, the report said, "Apple has improved the overall e-mail experience with a separate contact application and contact search, and the iPhone has always offered the most readable e-mail. We consider its method for combining a global address list and a contact search for names to be the best we have seen."

The report concluded with this summary:

"Apple has delivered an iPhone that is acceptable for business use at the appliance level. Most prospective iPhone users will judge the device based on consumer appeal. The AppStore applications and the iPhone’s excellent browser are supplemented with an e-mail client, which provides acceptable business capability with excellence in some areas. "Those who previously used a BlackBerry Windows Mobile or Nokia smartphone device should note that the iPhone will require an assessment of trade-offs in hardware design and onboard functionality ... However, each enterprise will view iPhone through its own lens, which will be heavily tinted by the organization’s security and management needs. Enterprises should approach expanded use of the iPhone slowly and with close examination."

One of they important findings in the report is that the configuration and deployment of a complex smartphone is indeed a function of enterprise needs. What one company considers vital, another will opt to bypass for the sake of other features. In other words, as Mr. Dulaney concluded: "...each enterprise will view iPhone through its own lens, which will be heavily tinted by the organization’s security and management needs."