iPhone 5 seen as effective but costly tool for business

CIOs will now face mounting pressure to equip employees with the latest must have smartphone, but must consider increased data usage over the 4G/network, in addition to the high cost per unit.

A report by Arieso, released earlier this year reveals that users of the 4S consumed double the amount of data than iPhone 4 owners; a trend only likely to continue as 4G infrastructure improves. However, Mervyn Kelly, Ciena's EMEA Marketing Director and network specialist, believes that the phone's advantages can outweigh the costs.

"The iPhone 5 has all the capabilities required to allow users to not only surf the web more efficiently, but at a faster speed, something that in the enterprise environment should have a direct and positive impact on mobile work efficiency," he said.

Apple has always been developing products and apps to appeal to the enterprise user; long before it scored massive commercial success with the first generations of the iPod and all of the subsequent smash hit products.

"To successfully integrate this device into the enterprise environment and fend off stiff competition from the likes of Samsung and HTC, this launch aims to set this device apart from its predecessors," says Kelly.

Recent applications such as Roambi, Quick Office and OmniFocus have already gained popularity in the enterprise market, designed for both productivity and an enjoyable mobile experience.

"However, the success of such applications is reliant of the overall user experience - and this is where network connectivity comes in," he adds. "Operators need to optimise their backhaul networks to handle high-bandwidth services. The backhaul portion of the network connects base stations to the core network and has a great impact on the quality of service consumers get."

Apple's iPhone 5 could bust telecoms budgets

Mark Urban, senior director of product marketing at Blue Coat Systems, offers a more cautious approach for businesses considering the iPhone 5.

"Leading companies are utilising iPads and iPhones to be more mobile, more flexible, but the majority of businesses are in reaction mode," says Urban. "Some estimates predict Apple will sell 10 million iPhone 5s in these weeks following the announcement. Our conservative estimate is that each device has the potential to contribute 15GB of traffic to the corporate network."

This may mean a doubling of telecom costs, according to Urban, and it is worth calculating the disruption to business processes, since the iPhone blurs the lines between professional functionality and entertainment.

"Businesses need to balance the demand for access to the corporate network against the impact those devices have on the network. By being able to differentiate business applications and prioritise them, businesses have the breathing room to embrace personal devices without breaking the bank," he says.

Putting in place sufficient capacity and resiliency in the backhaul will help operators to cope with the demand for additional bandwidth generated by increasingly powerful smart devices such as the iPhone 5, but it is clear that, despite the appeal and functionality of the device, enterprises should meticulously count the costs before handing out Apple's latest offering.