The iPhone vs. IT's culture of 'no'
Computerworld - It's still not good enough. That's the reaction of IT analysts and security outfits to Apple's new iPhone 3G. Sure, the iPhone 2.0 software will support Microsoft Exchange and Cisco VPNs. But is it safe enough for enterprise use -- as safe as, say, PCs? Gartner says not quite. The security guys say be afraid. It's just not good enough yet.
And it never will be. Oops, that wasn't supposed to slip out.
But hasn't that historically been IT's official position? We're the Department of No. Whatever it is, we're against it.
Cell phones? Wi-Fi? BlackBerries? Web sites? LANs? Laptops? Spreadsheets? PCs? Departmental minis? Not one of those technologies was secure enough, reliable enough and enterprise-ready enough when business users first insisted on sneaking them in under the IT (or MIS or DP) department's radar.
Of course, users had to sneak that stuff in. They knew what the answer would be if they asked us: No. Not ready. Not good enough. Not yet.
And if it was up to us, not ever.
Somehow, though, in the end those users got their way. We made our peace with those unfamiliar, much-dreaded technologies. We figured out how to lock them down, cordon them off or keep them under control.
Thus, today we hear analysts and security vendors advising us to avoid the much-dreaded iPhone because it may not be as secure as the (once much-dreaded, now familiar) PC.
Ironic? Sure, but we all know the fear that drives that irony. Security and reliability are important, and we already have enough trouble on both those fronts. PCs are the devil we know. We're stuck with them. And we can still nurse the fantasy that we can keep iPhones out by just saying no.
But why? Why turn users into outlaws again? It never works. It just reinforces the idea that we're the Department of No.
Besides, aren't we a lot better off demonstrating that we're the Department of Know-how?
When users come to us with the new iPhone -- and now that its price has dropped from the stratosphere to $199, a lot of users will be coming to us -- we don't have to tell them they can't connect to our systems.
Instead, we can start out by asking them what they want to do.
They might ask for the moon. Or they might have more modest ambitions, nothing that would test our systems' security or reliability at all.
Once we know exactly what they want, we can evaluate what will be required and lay that out for the users.
Some of the requirements will be technical. That's our job, and we'd better be up to it. Another part may be budgetary -- someone always has to pay the bill.



- Excel 2010 Cheat Sheet
- Register for this Computerworld Insider Cheat Sheet and gain access to hundreds of premium content articles, guides, product reviews and more.
- Overcome Top 7 Admin Challenges of Active Directory
- As Active Directory's role in the enterprise has drastically increased, so has the need to secure the data. Gain insight on creating repeatable,...
- Insiders Can Ruin Your Company. Take Action.
- Did you know that 80 percent of threats to an organization come from the inside? The threat from insiders is often overlooked in...
- Smarter Commerce is redefining value chain visibility
- Smarter Commerce is redefining the value chain in the age of the customer. It starts with putting the customer at the center of...
- Identity Governance: The Business Imperatives
- This white paper describes the business challenges and opportunities that are driving interest in Identity Governance while discussing considerations your organization should make...
- The Executive Buyer's Guide to Project Portfolio Management
- The Innotas Executive Buyer's Guide provides you with a concise overview of Project Portfolio Management (PPM) and delivers important buying criteria to help... All Management and Careers White Papers
- Live Webcast
Integrated IT Operations Management in the Cloud - Join award-winning technology editor Stan Gibson and Andrew White, CMO at Numara Software, to learn how asset management and service management are converging...
- Integrated IT Operations Management in the Cloud
- Join award-winning technology editor Stan Gibson and Andrew White, CMO at Numara Software, to learn how asset management and service management are converging...
- Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
- Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
- Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
- Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
- Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
- Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
- Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn... All Management and Careers Webcasts