Apple's secret enterprise plans

Jonny Evans
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March 27, 2008
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The furor surrounding Apple's move to license Microsoft's ActiveSync services to enable Exchange support on the iPhone may one day be seen as a tiny move, as the company plans to introduce wider support for the device through services supplied by Mac OS X Server.

Apple has already confirmed plans to introduce the final version of the iPhone Software Development kit in June, but whispers now claim the company may have a couple more surprises up its sleeve for WWDC 2008.

If these quietly whispered rumours are true, Apple plans to leverage its expertise in managing aspects of  both the software and hardware on its platforms to deliver new generations of tools that will let users integrate iPhone with Mac OS X Server-side services and tools. 

It's likely these will include new tools to help system administrators easily deploy iPhones within all-Mac environments. These tools will potentially include company-wide support for currently supported server-based solutions, such as group iCal and Address Book support, iChat, and more.

The move would - for the first time - mean Apple could soon be offering a complete environment designed to support an extensive ecosystem of tools. These would include mobile solutions, collaborative workgroups, remote and networked desktop environments and more. And all based on the standards supported by its Unix-based OS, delivering a compelling alternative to Windows-based enterprise systems.

Such implementations will likely generate interest in the enterprise sectors Apple has traditionally been denied a foothold in, if only for the fact that Mac OS X Server doesn't demand its users pay a per-user license fee.

9 to 5 Mac has been unable to fully corroborate these whispers at this time, but they suggest some hot news to come from WWDC in June, when most agree the second generation 3G-savvy iPhone is set to first appear.

Comments (18)

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 4:38am

Jobs is always four or five steps ahead of everyone else. He's a logistical and marketing genius.

bob (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 5:35am

more .mac intergration please.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 5:58am

furor... What furor?

Art Vandelay (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 7:11am

Quick question... when did the 3G iPhone get predicted to come in June? For months I've heard all the sites say "Anywhere from April-June", with the majority of those saying May. Is this a rumor coming from a source that you're quietly sneaking into other rumors, or is this just speculation? I think we'd all like to know.

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 7:18am

ummm...wwdc? need i say more? they won't roll out the new phone without the red carpet. they'll want full media coverage and a stage where they can demo the new functions and apps, not to mention any other new products. you're kidding yourself if you think it's coming any earlier than june. i'd say announcement at wwdc, release on june 30 - exactly one year after the release of the iphone 1.0

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 7:44am

iPhone's Active Sync function as an enterprise play? Ha ha ha ha - call me when their crappy workstations or silly servers start landing en mass on desktops at Fortune-500 companies. THEN you bozos can talk enterprise. Until then, enjoy your fancy, overpriced consumer electronics...

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 9:33am

My my, isn't someone a little defensive.
Yep, name calling is a terrific way to make your point.

Anonymous Observer (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 9:56am

Yea, it does seem like there is some real fear of Apple growing out there. The louder they yell the more threatened they are.

Soon we`ll all need earplugs for all the "noise".

Anonymous Coward (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 4:33pm

Overpriced eh? I'm feeling great about what I just spent on my MacBook Pro! Couldn't get these specs for that kind of value and such solid build quality and materials from a PC vendor. Also, Windows is currently my primary OS (on that MacBook Pro), so it has little to do with the OS or the "cool-factor" - they're just great computers.

Roland (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 7:49am

didn't jobs say on the iphone release keynote that he is only introducing it so early before the actual release, beacause it has to be approved by some authority and the application to do so would be published on a list online?
So anyone would knew that there is an iphone coming and he had to introduce it before that happens.

The keynote was on the 9th of january 07 and it became available on the 29th of June (not the 30th by the way).
So a 3g iphone must have been introduced in january 08 to be available in june 08. So if the second iphone is introduced in June 08 it might be available in december 08 then? am i right?

does anyone know details about this approval prcedure?
maybe it only takes so long for the "first model", but if this will be a umts phone, maybe the procedure isn't neccesary...

what do you think?

Ethan (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 4:39pm

Simply because that was the time-line for the first model isn't a very good reason to think the second will follow the same time-line. Apple was not ready to ship iPhone in January '07 for one, so they were not simply waiting on FCC approval. There are also supposedly ways in which Apple can have some of the FCC process shielded from the public for a certain period of time (such as until it is announced), if they can make a case for the disclosure of that information possibly harming their business. Sure, I know Steve said that they announced it 6 months out the first time so that they could get FCC approval, but he also said the lack of 3G was because of battery life concerns - which is an unfounded claim.

Jonny Evans | March 27, 2008 - 8:05am

 I'm under the impression that approval from the FCC in the US is required, and is usually filed for early. Now, in the case of iPhone v.1, Apple couldn't prove a need to file in secret. Given that every other news report now published everywhere is about the iPhone, Apple has a valid case to ask for a private filing with the FCC, citing 'potential damaging competitive reasons', which is an argument I think FCC would buy for model two. So i'm thinking that approval may not be as public as last time around.

Your mamma (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 9:25am

"call me when their crappy workstations or silly servers start landing en mass on desktops at Fortune-500 companies.."

Ring, ring....

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Hello?

Check the Fortune 500 list. pretty sure apple is on that list. They're a $US15B market cap company and it's reasonable to assume they use Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server.

Mac OS X is fundamentally UNIX (Darwin). So, by "crappy workstations or silly servers" I assume that you mean that ALL UNIX workstations/servers at ALL ISPs and Fortune 500 companies are crappy and silly...

Wake up and smell the silicon.... Anyone who thinks you can't run a business on Apple technology is fearful/ignorant/misinformed and hopelessly enslaved to Redmond....

Ethan (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 4:51pm

You're right on. Sure, Apple workstations/server aren't everywhere, but that says little of their true capability. Leopard is certified Unix and is capable of running any Unix application.

But the ringer here is the "crappiness" of Apple workstations and the "silliness" of Apple servers. To say this kind of thing is ludicrous and reflects badly on the capacity for reason of the poster. I believe any reasonably open administrator will look favorably on Apple servers (especially in the event that Apple provides a fully-featured business solution such as in the article). And to bash Apple workstations is simply 'silly'.

The likelihood that the poster has had much experience with either Apple servers or workstations is negligible.

Eraserhead (not verified) | March 27, 2008 - 7:09pm

Apple is currently worth a little more than US$15 billion, according to Google Finance there current value is US$123 billion

Tralfaz (not verified) | April 03, 2008 - 6:49pm

I think you're confusing Market Capitalization with Cash on Hand. Market Cap is the number of outstanding shares X current share price, as opposed to Cash on Hand is all the cash Apple is hoarding in the bank from profits. The former is what the company is worth and the latter is and asset

Benoir (not verified) | March 28, 2008 - 1:25am

but I'm afraid that OSX 10.5 server is crap.... so how are they going to attract enterprise

try and connect a client with SMB and the whole thing falls apart for APF users

it should not have been released until it could do what it is meant to do and that is to serve files.......

(but if anyone can tell me that I am wrong because we should have set up our server in such a way to enable SMB and AFP to coexist then please let me know....)

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