Corporate E-Mail on the iPhone

Security concerns have led some employers to forbid corporate e-mail access on Apple's iPhone, but third parties are stepping in to bridge the gap

Ben Knieff's suit pockets are a little bulky these days. Two weeks ago, he purchased an Apple (AAPL) iPhone—which he loves for Web surfing, maps, and news—but he still needs his BlackBerry to access corporate e-mail at the financial-services firm where he works in Minneapolis. "The iPhone wasn't supported by my corporate office, so it wasn't a choice," says Knieff, a product manager. He now checks two devices compulsively.

Knieff is hardly a unique case. More executives are packing dual mobile devices these days because many companies such as American Airlines' parent AMR (AMR), Qwest Communications International (Q), Bank of America (BAC), and BusinessWeek's parent, The McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP), discourage iPhone users from connecting to corporate e-mail systems such as Microsoft (MSFT) Exchange or IBM (IBM) Lotus Domino, citing security concerns (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/29/07, "Not Everyone Wants an iPhone").
Clever Workarounds

Since the iPhone's arrival, Corporate America has reacted in various ways. Some have let employees connect to the corporate network but deny tech support for the devices. Others, such as Bank of America, Qwest, and American Airlines, are not allowing workers with iPhones to connect to corporate e-mail systems at all. Of course, resourceful employees may elude corporate defenses, and their success doing so typically depends on how much security each company has installed.

Cisco (CSCO) subsidiary WebEx wants to help executives empty their coat pockets and shed unwanted phones. On Aug. 29, the company will give corporate users a way to access Outlook e-mail via their iPhones with its PCNow service. In March, WebEx began offering PCNow as a way to remotely access computer documents, e-mail, and calendars via mobile devices. The service is now available for the iPhone and will let workers access e-mail, contacts, and files on their PCs. WebEx is offering a free one-month trial, and then the service costs $12.95 per month for one PC, with discounts for those who buy in volume or sign up for an annual contract.

WebEx joins a growing number of companies that have announced or demonstrated services to help iPhone users connect to corporate e-mail since the new smartphone was launched in June. Those companies include Visto, Synchronica, Funambol, and Sybase (SY). On August 2, Synchronica began offering a 60-day free trial of its Mobile Gateway 3.0 service that provides mobile synchronization between Microsoft Exchange and Apple's iPhone. Visto will begin a free trial of its service late in the third quarter of 2007. On Aug. 7, Sybase demonstrated the use of one of its iAnywhere products to sign into corporate e-mail, calendars, and address books at its user conference in Las Vegas but has not announced a product.