O2 reports 'very strong' SME uptake of iPhone 3G
Published: 03 Dec 2008 07:30 GMT
More iPhone 3Gs than expected have been sold to small and medium-sized businesses, but the corporate world is a tougher nut to crack, according to O2.
Ben Dowd, head of business sales at O2, told ZDNet UK sister site silicon.com: "We have seen tremendous success across our channels in terms of the iPhone 3G model — very, very strong in SME and also creating a lot of interest in corporate, although, with corporate, it always takes longer for it to translate into bigger deals, purely because of the sales cycle."
Dowd claimed SME sales cycles are typically three to four weeks, compared to six months for corporate businesses. He added: "Within SMEs in particular, [the iPhone 3G has] exceeded my expectations in terms of the numbers that are getting delivered."
Dowd, who refused to give figures for business iPhone sales, admitted corporate chief information officers who are interested in deploying the iPhone have to have "a discussion" and "engage with the IT infrastructure" if they want to walk Apple's way.
"It's an easier decision to make for small businesses — [they] will invariably require less IT infrastructure, less of an IT discussion," he said.
Despite this, Dowd said he remains confident the iPhone can do well in the corporate sphere, given enough time. He added that "a number of corporate customers" are trialling the device, although he refused to identify the companies involved.
Interest in the iPhone has come from corporate customers across all sectors, he claimed, with the emphasis on trialling the handset to "see how it compares against the BlackBerry or how it compares against Microsoft".
"In terms of all of the challenges or potential challenges [for corporate customers] that could be raised with the iPhone, I think they can all be addressed, from security to price to functionality to application to mobility," he added.
Dowd also played down potential iPhone competitors such as the BlackBerry Storm touchscreen device — exclusive to Vodafone — and the HTC G1 with Google Android — on T-Mobile only.
"[The iPhone is] far more intuitive than, say, the Storm or the Android," he claimed.
"I think the [Storm's] software is a bit clunky. I think the internet-browsing experience is nothing compared to the iPhone. I don't think it's as intuitive as the iPhone. And I think design, build and quality is nothing compared to the iPhone," Dowd said.
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According to Dowd, the G1 is still below the radar for businesses.
"I don't think [businesses are] even talking about it. I think a lot of businesses are not even aware it exists… I guess it's about the credibility as well. If T-Mobile are going to sell it into their B2B base... they are clearly fourth player in that space, so potentially it becomes harder," he said.
Discussing O2's strategy for 2009, Dowd said the operator is eyeing up the unified-comms space.
He told silicon.com: "Our insight has indicated to us that, three years from now, there will be four or five players in the marketplace that will have the capability of delivering unified comms, and we absolutely want to make sure that we are one of them."
O2 believes offerings such as professional managed services will get a boost during the economic downturn, Dowd added.
Credit: SMEs crazy in love with iPhone from silicon.com
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