Apple Poaching Enterprise Sales Staff From Research in Motion

[mdriftmeyer]

When the PIM stack on iOS is as good as it is on BlackBerry, and the iPhone lasts for 2-3 days of normal use on a charge, it will replace BlackBerries.

These are things RIM figured out 5 years ago. Reliability and stability are NOT the same thing, and they are very important to large enterprises. Fart apps and trendy plain text editors that sync with Dropbox aren't.

For $299 Enterprise Developer licensing addresses their needs in-house and that's one of the reason Apple has sored in Business and Government contracts.

Sorry, but 99.9% of the public has no clue that NeXT was an Enterprise Only Company when Apple bought them.

Steve changed focus to Consumer only until it was time to move back. The expertise in the Enterprise has a long history at NeXT and the ObjC/Cocoa dev talent at Apple has only expanded over time.

There are large collections of enterprise caliber ex-NeXT/ex-WOF talent out there who can contract to Corporations to get their PIM solutions in order.

When Apple makes their PIM frameworks surpass Blackberry it will only make it that much easier for in-house corporate solutions to be deployed.

 

[jzuena]

Apple shares are nothing and have no relation to anything. Just because stocks go up does'nt mean the company's making the right moves. Apple has been accused in the past for manipulating stock to go up and so have other companies so be careful on what you praise about.

When people defect from RIM to Apple they are given stock options. Therefore the shares have everything to do with their decision to either stay with RIM (whose stock is right where it was a year ago) or go to Apple (whose stock is rising).

These are sales team members we are talking about. It is all about the $$$ with sales guys. They could care less what the company makes, as long as they are getting more $$$ now than before. If Apple's stock goes up, then by definition (to them) Apple is making the right moves.

 

[silentnite]

Every one's fair game and like the saying goes... if you can't beat em might as well join em. I'd ditch RIM in a second. It's either that or get left out in the cold.

 

[MacGiver]

Hope people realize you cannot get push e-mail working on an iPhone unless you use their paid .Me service and Gmail, or if your company has exchange.

I have Exchange Active Sync (EAS) on my iPhone and I receive corporate emails faster on my iPhone than my computer...So I do not see any issue here.
The issue with iPhone has been security for many corporates...this has been and continue to be solved by Apple so it is not or won't be an issue anymore.

The main issue is price! For a corporate the monthly fee for an iPhone vs. a BB can be twice more expensive for an iPhone...Not sure who owns this but I beleive that is Apple who is asking too high contribution fees to phone network providers. As long as this is not solved one way or the other, Apple won't be number 1 in the entreprise world...For instance in my comapny they offer BB...it costs about 20€ per month...and iPhone is about 30€ if not more...so at least 1/3 more expensive...multiiply this by the number of users and the choice is quickly made by the IT teams.

One more thing...Apple did a good job on emails but still has a lot to do to catch up with RIM. Can't save attachement unless you download a specific app to do it, cannot serach by time period, cannot mark read or unread several emails at once, cannot set up out of office, etc...etc...etc...

 

[kps]

Too bad Jobs put a bullet through Apple's head in the enterprise space by canning the XServe. RIM salespeople were dancing in the streets that day, when the Playbook suddenly went from vaporware to roadmap.

 

[Lunchbox700]

This seems a bit extreme.

I meant only in the sense of "I don't need apps, or I don't need to watch videos " I say try it anyways because the Ipod touch is one of those devices that you think you would never need or use the features, but after a few months you are using them all the time. I backtrack a little and say it may not be for everyone, but it is for a lot of people who initially thought it wasn't .

 

[0815]

Really? We use Lotus Notes and it works like a charm. I guess we're just lucky.......

Lotus Notes --- good one. Is that garbage still around? I remember the days when I was forced to use it, was the most horrible product ever. Couldn't imagine anyone using the words "Lotus Notes" and "works like a charm" in the same sentence .... oh well, it's a free world and everyone can use what fits them or their needs.

 

[wolfshades]

Hope people realize RIM sends all your blackberry data to Canada and archives it there.

Yes. And God knows what we do with it all once it's here.

----written from deep within my lair in frozen Toronto----

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Apple shares are nothing and have no relation to anything. Just because stocks go up does'nt mean the company's making the right moves. Apple has been accused in the past for manipulating stock to go up and so have other companies so be careful on what you praise about.

And second, RIM is not going away like Palm. They know what they're doing and focusing on the CORPORATE/BUSINESS world that demands more performance and power for their work than the mass "I wanna, wanna" consumer market, like those that consume up Starbucks Coffee.

The PlayBook is for working professionals, not toy playing consumers that like to show off in a "Oh, look how kewl I am for holding this thing".

Buying an Apple product is like buying status at a Starbucks.

LOL - this guy again saying stocks don't matter.

 

[Xtremehkr]

RIM is the next Palm if they don't take some drastic action fairly soon.

SJ wasn't kidding when he said RIM needs to become a software firm. The software the Blackberry uses is definitely RIM's weak spot.

I had the misfortune of owning a Blackberry Storm for a while and it was an early indication that RIM was falling behind in the smart phone category.

All of their early good work in bringing business features to the phone is in danger of being eclipsed by companies with the know how to do better.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Once the iphone is available on other carriers in 2012, it will have tremendous market share. People prefer the original smart phone. It will be a good time to own apple stock.

 

[MacGiver]

It's good to see that Apple is aware that its current hardware isn't business-grade, so there is still hope for improvements in that area.

But what is a HW business grade phone actually...to me the add value is the content so the SW...not the HW. Can someone elaborate?

 

[Oilbrnr]

The main issue is price! For a corporate the monthly fee for an iPhone vs. a BB can be twice more expensive for an iPhone...

Meh, the cost factor goes out the window when employees are footing the bill. As the current trend of allowing employees to purchase and pay for their own smartphone devices of their choosing gains traction, RIM's market share will continue to erode. That is unless they actually produce a device again that people want.

I was so glad to turn in my BB Tour a couple of months ago and have all my email, contacts and calendars unified. Not to mention only needing to carry one device. The days of company provided phones and associated services are numbered.

 

[sbrhwkp3]

Yeah, because Balsillie wants all Canadians to see how stupid Americans are from their BlackBerry usage.

What kind of comment, is that? Everyone knows Canadians are really down to earth and honest. Unless you are referring to the fact that it takes longer to access your data, which I doubt.

Does anyone here even know Jim tried to buy 3 NHL teams?

I do. I'm a huge hockey fan. And I'm glad he failed. I don't want a team in Hamilton.

 

[BTW]

Poaching is such a strong word. Maybe those 5 people jumped ship without Apple soliciting them. Smart people can usually see the writing on the wall when their company is going downhill. It has been all over the news that Apple's presence in the enterprise with the iPhone is pretty strong. iPad sales to the enterprise are making them even stronger in that space.

 

[gnasher729]

Apple shares are nothing and have no relation to anything. Just because stocks go up does'nt mean the company's making the right moves. Apple has been accused in the past for manipulating stock to go up and so have other companies so be careful on what you praise about.

You don't say. Please give us a reference to those accusations.

 

[blahblah100]

Every one's fair game and like the saying goes... if you can't beat em might as well join em. I'd ditch RIM in a second. It's either that or get left out in the cold.

Was this your suggestion to Apple employees in the 90's?

 

[Earendil]

Too bad Jobs put a bullet through Apple's head in the enterprise space by canning the XServe. RIM salespeople were dancing in the streets that day, when the Playbook suddenly went from vaporware to roadmap.

And out of left field...

I would really enjoying watching you try and tie the desicion to forgo further development of the XServe to how RIM does selling cell phones. And while you at it, try and connect that Playbook reference as well. No, really, go ahead. I could use a good laugh

 

[blahblah100]

Once the iphone is available on other carriers in 2012, it will have tremendous market share. People prefer the original smart phone. It will be a good time to own apple stock.

Wait, are you suggesting the iPhone is the 'original smart phone'? I truly hope I am misunderstanding your post.

 

[Earendil]

Poaching is such a strong word. Maybe those 5 people jumped ship without Apple soliciting them. Smart people can usually see the writing on the wall when their company is going downhill. It has been all over the news that Apple's presence in the enterprise with the iPhone is pretty strong. iPad sales to the enterprise are making them even stronger in that space.

Bingo. This is what I was thinking.

In fact a smart employee without the loyalty guilt would jump ship early. They could probably go to Apple and ask for a large amount of money for the experience they bring in selling to the business community. Apple needs that expertise and has the money and the product. Sounds like a sales person's (or any employee's) dream.

 

[Nermal]

But what is a HW business grade phone actually...to me the add value is the content so the SW...not the HW. Can someone elaborate?

The impression I got was that "hardware" was referring to the whole package, rather than just the physical hardware. I agree with you; all of the shortcomings that I'm aware of can be resolved in software.

 

[tempusfugit]

Hope people realize you cannot get push e-mail working on an iPhone unless you use their paid .Me service and Gmail, or if your company has exchange.

LOL

You can't push email unless you pay for it or use multiple free options. That really stinks. /sarcasm

Yahoo pushes mail without even having to use exchange interface and gmail is simple to set up for push. So blackberry has its own email service, other than that what can't the iPhone do?

Thats like saying the iPhone can't do chat over the web because it doesn't have blackberry messenger. Simply asinine.

 

[nylonsteel]

Sounds hopefull to me
I'm for Apple intuitive user interface over the cold Rimm/PC enterprise system
Apple computing experience was on the right path ever since they visited Xerox PARC
Rimm buying QNX seems like a step back to the dreadfull DOS

 

[mutantteenager]

Anyone reading this thread would think RIM have zero market share in the enterprise sector. It is in fact their bread and butter. They rock that space, and Apple obviously want a piece of that.

This is as much an admission that Apple haven't cracked that market, as it is that they respect RIM's offer to corporate consumers.

 

[theOtherGeoff]

Too bad Jobs put a bullet through Apple's head in the enterprise space by canning the XServe. RIM salespeople were dancing in the streets that day, when the Playbook suddenly went from vaporware to roadmap.

what sort of enterprise are you talking about? Any enterprise worth getting 5 senior sales/marketing execs from RIM is not one that buys Xserves as a core data center technology (most of these shops are 'tolerating' *nix now, with a Mainframe in the back room, and a slew of Windows Server 2003 blade farms throughout).

Apple wants to sell an iPad/iPhone and a Mac Desktop/MBP to every employee in the company. The IT department will fight that tooth and nail, just like they fought Blackberry's for years. These 5 people will sell to the users and force CIOs to support them.

Apple's integration with Active Directory is more important than Xserve. Integrating into central configuration is more important than owning the webtier.

If Sun couldn't take over the data center, how do you think Apple will fare any better with a 'data center centric' attack. No, the 'long pull' plan is to own the desktops, then invade the server room (as we saw Microsoft do circa 1990).

The Apple modus operandi is selling phones and pads to sell desktops. Halo Effect. It worked with iPods 5 years ago on college campuses... With instant connectivity the key force multiplier (no calling back to the office or texting somone for data), getting every 'sales/knowledge-worker' mobile access to the data is key, and putting on a device that eliminates either a laptop or a phone (or both) makes total sense.

The next logical step is figuring out how to sell Apple OSX Server software into virtualized environments, which is what real enterprises want (remember, they haven't gotten rid of exchange, so they're gonna have dozen's of exchange machines.... ). This puts a foothold into owning the most important part of the halo, the web-app tier. Much like how hard it is for Lotus Shops to give up Notes database apps, once you lock in into web development on OSX server optimized for safari on your device farm (think IIS and IE), you've got a toe hold to the enterprise.

Blackberry has no such hold... their BES boxes were nice utilities to link to Notes and Exchange Servers, and they have no DNA for enterprise apps. Apple's has that DNA (again see the reference to NeXT and WebObjects, and the scale of their commercial websites and online services).

I see the plan... I've seen it before. Jobs has read Ballmer's book.