In 2007, Forrester Research listed ten reasons why enterprises should not adopt the iPhone. Less than a year later, they were backtracking. This was a smart move since Apple now has 16 percent of the smartphone market and 40 percent of AT&T’s sales are for business users. Apple has targeted business users with the iPhone, including features to help it integrate into the enterprise; it has been documenting those features on its Web site (http://www.apple.com/iphone/enterprise). Although Apple does provide a 90-page guide [1], this book goes further.
Administering thousands of devices is exponentially different from administering a few devices. The premise of this book is just that. The author provides a good foundation, making the case that enterprises will inevitably adopt the iPhone in chapter 1, explaining purchasing and activation in chapter 2, and covering manual configuration in chapter 3.
Chapters 4 through 8 provide further details--such as “Integrating with Groupware” (chapter 4)--however, the book does not cover some topics important to enterprise iPhone/iPad administrators. Most businesses use Microsoft Exchange. In the author-provided example on connecting to Microsoft Exchange in chapter 4, the connectivity test fails because a particular setting, Autodiscover, is not set to “on.” Most large enterprises will want to use this option because it saves setup time. It is disappointing that the author does not include a description of the Autodiscover service, or the setup required; including such information would be useful.
Chapter 9 profiles five applications that readers can purchase to assist in mass deployments. The author focuses on how to perform a few activities, however, as opposed to providing a full feature comparison. Although such comparisons are available on the Web, they are often missing data for certain features. A rigorous comparison included in this chapter and then perhaps updated periodically via the Web would make this book much more useful. Also, the low resolution of the graphics is disappointing, and chapter 10, “Leveraging Third-Party Solutions for Productivity,” does not deliver what the title implies.
One of the most valuable chapters is chapter 11, “Developing A Program For Support.” As the author states, the information technology (IT) support group often dictates how the organization perceives the IT function as a whole. Good support fosters a strong IT department, and poor support makes for a weak IT department. The lesson here is to support the users. The author provides an overview that includes a sample syllabus, useful links with customizable support content, and instructions on how to configure a software update service to facilitate implementing a process for patch management. Although some advice in this chapter seems obvious, it is amazing how often common sense is lacking in some firms.
A case study or project plan with activities showing a pilot and enterprise roll-out would have been a valuable addition. It would also be useful to include details on over-the-air enrollment. I would also expect a section on how to set up the Autodiscover process for Microsoft Exchange. This book will provide an easy introduction to learning terms and setup--just be prepared to dig a bit further.
