It’s up to unbelievable numbers. The iPhone is used in 97% of the Fortune 500, and 91% of the Global 500, and iPad is used in 98% of the Fortune 500 and 93% of the Global 500 […] 90% of tablet activations in corporations are iPads. And 95% of total app activations were on iOS … Expand Expanding Close
Employees who use their own electronic devices at work under a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) arrangement may have unwittingly authorised their employer to remotely wipe their device when they leave the company, reports the WSJ.
In early October, Michael Irvin stood up to leave a New York City restaurant when he glanced at his iPhone and noticed it was powering off. When he turned it back on again, all of his information—email programs, contacts, family photos, apps and music he had downloaded—had vanished […]
It wasn’t a malfunction. The device had been wiped clean by AlphaCare of New York, the client he had been working for full-time since April. Mr. Irvin received an email from his AlphaCare address that day confirming the phone had been remotely erased.
A survey found that 21 percent of companies perform a remote wipe of employee-owned devices registered on the company network, with employees ostensibly agreeing to this when they connect to the company network.
Many employers have a pro forma user agreement that pops up when employees connect to an email or network server via a personal device, he added. But even if these documents explicitly state that the company may perform remote wipes, workers often don’t take the time to read it before clicking the “I agree” button.
The legality of the practice has reportedly not yet been tested in court.
In principle, an iCloud or iTunes backup should allow wiped iPhones to be restored, but you may want to pay a little more attention to the small-print next time one of those corporate messages pops up on your screen, to find out what it is you’ve been agreeing to …
Update: Several readers have pointed out that the remote wipe would be performed via the company’s Exchange servers, so removing the Exchange account the day before you leave would be a good precaution.
The first gift to Apple Retail Employees was $10 off of a $50 iTunes gift card. This isn’t something to brag about considering a lot of stores offer this promotion frequently. Another gift Apple gives its retail employees is the ability to purchase third-party accessories at a steep discount, with new products being added to the selection each week. Apple has done this in past years:
Trading in Blackberry shares was briefly suspended in the lead-up to the company’s announcement that it is exploring ‘strategic alternatives’.
The Company’s Board of Directors has formed a Special Committee to explore strategic alternatives to enhance value and increase scale in order to accelerate BlackBerry 10 deployment. These alternatives could include, among others, possible joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, a sale of the Company or other possible transactions.
The company, which once dominated the enterprise market, was extremely late moving into touchscreen phones and found itself increasingly isolated by both Bring Your Own Device policies and aggressive pitching to the corporate market by both Apple and Samsung.
This tweet by Techmeme editor Mahendra Palsule perhaps says it best:
The time for Blackberry to explore strategic alternatives was two years ago.
In an interesting development, the press release notes Prem Watsa CEO Fairfax Financial has resigned from the board:
With the announcement of the Special Committee, Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax Financial informed the Company that he felt it was appropriate to resign due to potential conflicts that may arise during the process. Fairfax Financial is the largest BlackBerry shareholder. Mr. Watsa said, “I continue to be a strong supporter of the Company, the Board and Management as they move forward during this process, and Fairfax Financial has no current intention of selling its shares.”
Perhaps this indicates that the Blackberry’s largest shareholder is at least considering a buyout.
According to a report from PRWeek, Apple has strengthened its European communications team with the hiring of Rolls-Royce’s director of external comms Josh Rosenstock in a newly created executive position. The report claimed sources close to the situation said the hire was based on “Apple’s desire to grow its corporate affairs capabilities as it becomes increasingly drawn into global regulatory and political issues.” Rosenstock will reportedly join the company in the coming weeks as the Director of Corporate Comms for the Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) and report to Apple Senior Director of Corporate Comms for EMEIA Alan Hely.
One source with knowledge of the move said the ‘heavyweight’ hire was a reflection of Apple’s desire to grow its corporate affairs capabilities as it becomes increasingly drawn into global regulatory and political issues… Another senior comms source added: ‘This is an acknowledgement from Apple there’s a need for wider horsepower when it comes to links with Whitehall stakeholders. ‘As Apple becomes an institution in its own right it needs to upskill in this area.’… It is thought Rosenstock will report to Alan Hely, senior director, corporate comms, EMEIA, Apple Europe.
Apple and Rolls-Royce declined to comment on the report.
We know that demand for the new iPad met expectations with Apple telling USAToday demand is “off the charts.” Apple also confirmed that the initial pre-order supplies were purchased with shipping times for the device slipping to “2-3 weeks.” Now, a new ChangeWave Research study of “1,604 business IT buyers” gives some insight into just how in-demand the new device will be in the enterprise.
From the study, we learn that approximately 22 percent of companies plan to buy tablets for their employees during Q2 2012. ChangeWave noted, among those companies, demand for iPad increased to the “highest level of corporate iPad demand ever” with 84 percent planning to make the new iPad their tablet of choice. The increase represents a 7-point jump from ChangeWave’s last study due to the new iPad launch. The study also aimed to find which carrier the companies plan to use for data services with their tablets. Not surprisingly, AT&T and Verizon were neck and neck:
Research firm IDG on Monday published a new survey called “iPad for Business 2012,” showing that the iPad is anything but a fad as far as big business is concerned. The global survey, available as a downloadable PDF document, noted that 91 percent of businesses that deployed iPads are using the device primarily for work, even if only approximately a quarter of issued devices were supplied as a corporate tool. Consumers and pros alike both use the device for media consumption, which in the case of the latter is predominantly text-based and work-related.
IT and business professionals certainly use their iPads at home. But unlike most consumers, they also use their devices in a similarly intensive way at work. In a further, decisive, break with consumer usage patterns, IT and business professionals use their devices on the road far more frequently than anywhere else.
Some 79 percent of IT professionals “always” use the iPads on the move and 59 percent “always” or “sometimes” use the device in offline mode. Road use usually entails planes, trains, automobiles, hotel lobbies, coffee shops, conference halls and meeting rooms, IDG noted, even though only 40 percent of iPads sold incorporate 3G connectivity.
More than three-quarters of polled workers use the iPads to browse the web, and 76 percent of pros said they “always” use iPads to read content. Meanwhile, 73 percent opted for news consumption and more than half— or 54 percent— use it for work communication. Some 79 percent tap into the iPad on the move and 54 percent use it at home. Social media, personal communication and entertainment follow with 44 percent, 42 percent and 31 percent, respectively.
