US business users get official iPhone tariffs
Though many people, including a good few geeks in company IT departments (sorry, but hey, I used to be one, so it’s justified), have said that the iPhone isn’t a good fit for business users. However, it would seem enough people have been using Apple’s wonder phone for business use — so much so that AT&T has decided to launch a business tariff.
It offers a similar feature set to the personal plans — unlimited data and visual voicemail, plus a varying amount of “free” SMS text messages depending on how much a user (or their company) stumps up per month. In addition, there are additional options for using data while roaming abroad.
It will be interesting to see how many business users are able to take up this offer. They’ll still need to gain the approval of their employer before taking the iPhone out, and that could well remain the sticking point.
With rumours growing that IBM will announce a native version of Lotus Notes application for the iPhone, the case for allowing the iPhone to be used in business could be growing. Then again, there are plenty of handsets which already do a much better job with corporate applications, and have already been well tested and secured.
Might this prompt a similar move on the part of O2? Though they have been prevented by Apple from announcing how many iPhones have been sold in the UK, it does seem that a positive ripple effect has already been seen at work. Though the iPhone may not have been selling as well in the UK as had been predicted, O2 reckon the iPhone’s launch brought more customers into their stores.
Perhaps introducing a business tariff for the iPhone might entice more business users to their network?
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