iPhones for BlackBerries at UBS
June 11, 2010: 11:01 AM ETUp to one third of the the bank's 18,000 BlackBerries could migrate to Apple's smartphone
Photo: Apple Inc.
In an unusual note to clients, UBS (UBS) analyst Maynard Um reported Thursday on the results of a panel discussion with his own bank's senior information technology personnel.
The bit that caught my eye was what his IT folks had to say about the "strong" desire among bank employees to get to both their personal and business data on a single mobile device:
"UBS panelists noted it is currently testing software from Good Technology that works with a multitude of devices such as Apple's iPhone, and allows for personal and business content to be accessed in a secure way on a single device. Our panel felt that as much as 1/3 of UBS's 18,000 RIMM devices could possibly migrate to other platforms once the technology is fully integrated."
IT guys tend to be hostile to consumer-oriented vendors, like Apple (AAPL), that come in through the back door and complicate their lives. But the iPhone seems to be making inroads into some of the most Apple-resistant IT departments.
In January, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer reported that 70% of Fortune 500 companies were either issuing iPhones or starting iPhone pilot projects.
Interest in the device is "white hot," Gartner analyst Ken Delaney told Reuters last May. "If the IT shops had their way, they would just have BlackBerry, but they don't have the power anymore. The end user has the power."
[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]
