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My IT department saying "Don't buy iPhone just yet"
- Thread starter Peel
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I think they are making the right choice. Pretty much everyone at the company I work at is waiting to hear the results from their beta tester ... which is me 
This is one of the reasons I love working for a small company that doesn't run Exchange. Our corporate email is IMAP/POP so its a no brainer, it also helps that I'm in the IT department that is responsible for the mail servers.
They're not "apprehensive", they're being smart. First rule of running an IT department: if you don't have the exact specification (and preferably a test unit) you don''t support it. Period. If they hadn't sent out this message (and it turns out the iPhone doesn't support Exchange in a way compatible with whatever this particular department have configured) they'd have been faced with a horde of people (probably all either geeks or execs) bitching on Monday morning about how their new uber-phone isn't getting e-mail and they want it fixed now and why weren't they warned this might be a problem etc etc etc.
Good IT department, have a cookie! And yes, I run an IT support service myself and we frequently issue such warnings - basically, there is an approved list of kit that we issue and/or support. If you buy your own kit without talking to us first it may never work and we have no support obligation, though we will try and help. If you DO speak to us first we'll tell you if there's any chance of it working and, if so, how long we're looking at to get it configured, how far our support will go for a non-standard item and whether or not you should even think about making the purchase. If you choose to ignore this advice and choose to kvetch if it doesn't work then it's your own fault.
Frankly, if Microsoft themselves were going to launch a new, Microsoft branded smart phone running Windows Mobile 7 which would link to exchange with zero admin and work perfectly any good IT department would still issue a warning about holding off any purchase until they've had time to get a test unit and try it out. Why? Because things never work as advertised and the duty of an IT department is to keep the company infrastructure and services running smoothly and deliver the maximum possible uptime to all users, not to get the latest shiny things deployed on the day of launch (despite what some directors may think
). Hell, when was the last time any large company rolled out a new version of ANY operating system on the day of release across the company? You just don't do it until you've had chance to test whatever you're about to do in a nice secure, controlled environment (or, if such a thing is not available, on a weekend when you can more easily hide the downtime that results from rebuilding whatever just screwed up).
Cant you just get a normal email and forward from your Exchange.. (I don't know much about Exchange)
They're not "apprehensive", they're being smart. First rule of running an IT department: if you don't have the exact specification (and preferably a test unit) you don''t support it. Period. If they hadn't sent out this message (and it turns out the iPhone doesn't support Exchange in a way compatible with whatever this particular department have configured) they'd have been faced with a horde of people (probably all either geeks or execs) bitching on Monday morning about how their new uber-phone isn't getting e-mail and they want it fixed now and why weren't they warned this might be a problem etc etc etc.
Good IT department, have a cookie! And yes, I run an IT support service myself and we frequently issue such warnings - basically, there is an approved list of kit that we issue and/or support. If you buy your own kit without talking to us first it may never work and we have no support obligation, though we will try and help. If you DO speak to us first we'll tell you if there's any chance of it working and, if so, how long we're looking at to get it configured, how far our support will go for a non-standard item and whether or not you should even think about making the purchase. If you choose to ignore this advice and choose to kvetch if it doesn't work then it's your own fault.
Frankly, if Microsoft themselves were going to launch a new, Microsoft branded smart phone running Windows Mobile 7 which would link to exchange with zero admin and work perfectly any good IT department would still issue a warning about holding off any purchase until they've had time to get a test unit and try it out. Why? Because things never work as advertised and the duty of an IT department is to keep the company infrastructure and services running smoothly and deliver the maximum possible uptime to all users, not to get the latest shiny things deployed on the day of launch (despite what some directors may think
I understand your ultra-conservative approach but:
- IMAP is not a new or cutting edge protocol, it's been around forever.
- It's my understanding that MS Exchange's IMAP implementation has been an official supported feature of the product for a long time.
- Exchange supports IMAP over SSL which should cool all but the strictest of security concerns.
My IT group won't support my Treo now, so what do I care what their position on the iPhone is?
I'm more concerned about them "permitting" me to use my MacBook on their precious network. This is the highly protected, secure network that all the zombies in Sales keep transmitting viruses and malware through, and reinfecting their WinBoxes requiring reimaging on a regular schedule.
Um, I'm VPN'd in now, and connected to the Exchange server through Entourage as we speak. (Shhh.... Don't tell anybody!)
I'm more concerned about them "permitting" me to use my MacBook on their precious network. This is the highly protected, secure network that all the zombies in Sales keep transmitting viruses and malware through, and reinfecting their WinBoxes requiring reimaging on a regular schedule.
Um, I'm VPN'd in now, and connected to the Exchange server through Entourage as we speak. (Shhh.... Don't tell anybody!)
As an Exchange admin...
As an Exchange admin I feel I have to reply to the IMAP "enable and support yourself" comment. Adding additional protocols to an Exchange implementation adds additional processing overhead to the Exchange servers that may not have been planned for. While it's a nice idea to be able to "support yourself if only IT would turn it on" you do have to consider that each service you add to a server consumes additional resources on that server. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
My $0.02
As an Exchange admin I feel I have to reply to the IMAP "enable and support yourself" comment. Adding additional protocols to an Exchange implementation adds additional processing overhead to the Exchange servers that may not have been planned for. While it's a nice idea to be able to "support yourself if only IT would turn it on" you do have to consider that each service you add to a server consumes additional resources on that server. There's no such thing as a free lunch.
My $0.02
True, but each IMAP device in your organization is one less ActiveSync device. So total resources consumed remains roughly constant. In fact, considering that IMAP is a 'lighter' protocol that ActiveSync, it's likely that your overall resource utilization will actually decrease. This is pure speculation of course so please correct me if I'm wrong.
Technically, you can, but I know my company would pitch an absolute fit about this. There are very strict rules in place regarding information security and proprietary information, and forwarding our email to a nonsecured, out of house account would probably cause someone to fire me.
My IT department refused the iPhone weeks ago. Not secure enough, and no one wants to bother with it. Everyone's pretty much gotten over it now.
IMAP on Exchange not so lightweight
Actually, for Exchange IMAP is a heavier protocol than ActiveSync's HTTP(S).
Compare Scenario 3 (Outlook Web Access, Outlook Client RPC over HTTP(S) and Active Sync) here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124014.aspx
Versus the Exchange + IMAP scenario here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998453.aspx
I'm not vouching for Exchange here, just making the point that IMAP adds greater workload to the servers than do Microsoft's other protocols (which are all based-on standard HTTP).
True, but each IMAP device in your organization is one less ActiveSync device. So total resources consumed remains roughly constant. In fact, considering that IMAP is a 'lighter' protocol that ActiveSync, it's likely that your overall resource utilization will actually decrease. This is pure speculation of course so please correct me if I'm wrong.
Actually, for Exchange IMAP is a heavier protocol than ActiveSync's HTTP(S).
Compare Scenario 3 (Outlook Web Access, Outlook Client RPC over HTTP(S) and Active Sync) here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124014.aspx
Versus the Exchange + IMAP scenario here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998453.aspx
I'm not vouching for Exchange here, just making the point that IMAP adds greater workload to the servers than do Microsoft's other protocols (which are all based-on standard HTTP).
Sorry, Exchange has the setting to auto-forward your mail outside of Exchange disabled by default. Ostensibly its set that way to prevent mail routing loops.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/266166
Your Exchange admins may leave it off for various reasons, including SOX, HIPAA, or any other regulatory obligations or that favorite IT fallback "security".
Not sure how much you'll like that on EDGE.
See David Pogue's review linked off main page.
IT is almost always fuddly duddly about new technology, unless they themselves want to use it.
Personally, I don't check my work email unless I'm at my desk. Everyone else has their Crackbetter buzzing on their hip every other minute. I rather focus on the task at hand and if the building is on fire someone can just call me.
If work wants a 24/7 email tether, they can pony up the cash for a device and plan.
Personally, I don't check my work email unless I'm at my desk. Everyone else has their Crackbetter buzzing on their hip every other minute. I rather focus on the task at hand and if the building is on fire someone can just call me.
If work wants a 24/7 email tether, they can pony up the cash for a device and plan.
Want to piss them off? Hook up a wireless router to the lan and bury it inside a cubicle wall. It'll take em a while to find the damn thing! LOL
The reality is some companies IT department will be overridden, just like they were for the 100's of some odd gadgets that came before the iPhone. If the orders come from high enough, theres little to say about it.
Given that, you would have to be crazy to do anything until its understood. Especially with Apples open information flow
Hell, my company still doesn't support the Mac platform. Barbarians! LOL
The reality is some companies IT department will be overridden, just like they were for the 100's of some odd gadgets that came before the iPhone. If the orders come from high enough, theres little to say about it.
Given that, you would have to be crazy to do anything until its understood. Especially with Apples open information flow
Hell, my company still doesn't support the Mac platform. Barbarians! LOL
dagomike: Actually, most IT departments don't want to support something thats unproven and hasn't event been released yet. Who knows what the actual cost to your IT department (helpdesk, emai system, etc) would be to support iPhone?
Want to piss them off? Hook up a wireless router to the lan and bury it inside a cubicle wall. It'll take em a while to find the damn thing! LOL
The reality is some companies IT department will be overridden, just like they were for the 100's of some odd gadgets that came before the iPhone. If the orders come from high enough, theres little to say about it.
Given that, you would have to be crazy to do anything until its understood. Especially with Apples open information flow
Hell, my company still doesn't support the Mac platform. Barbarians! LOL
pilotError: Your IT guys must love you. You seem to be just the type of "Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!" user that brings down the whole network because you wanted to connect your shiny new toy. In IT we call those users "The bane of our existence" or "Those who keep us employed". Thanks.
How much he will like reading web mail on Edge?
Not sure that is an issue. Unless your mail consists mostly of images and not text.
It's not terribly difficult to simply block routers by their MAC address. Better off making your workstation a dummy workstation the software base station.
I completely understand why the IT guys are saying that. IT guess are very careful about anything new because it can cause problems for them. They have to test it themselves to make sure it ok for everyone because everyone else in the office will more than likely do one of the things to cause major problems.
well that part about the Blckbarriers buzzing at one hip really depends on the industry. I for example am going into a field where I almost would need that ability to get my email on the fly. I will quite often be out of the office and not at my desk but I do need to get my emails for the information they will contain to projects I will be working on.
For example getting the email though a Blackberry I would a chance to stop some one doing something stupid with 30 sec replay or a quick phone call. If it waited until I got back to the office it could mean hours of my time getting it fix. I would rather the quick and easy fix than spending hours trying to undo the damage. but like I said it really depends on your field and what you do. I am going into a field where it is important and I am quite often will not my desk.
well that part about the Blckbarriers buzzing at one hip really depends on the industry. I for example am going into a field where I almost would need that ability to get my email on the fly. I will quite often be out of the office and not at my desk but I do need to get my emails for the information they will contain to projects I will be working on.
For example getting the email though a Blackberry I would a chance to stop some one doing something stupid with 30 sec replay or a quick phone call. If it waited until I got back to the office it could mean hours of my time getting it fix. I would rather the quick and easy fix than spending hours trying to undo the damage. but like I said it really depends on your field and what you do. I am going into a field where it is important and I am quite often will not my desk.
Same here. Under no circumstance would the company I work for ever consider providing access to any of its network services (much less support) an employees personal phone.
well that would me no iPhone for that companies because there is no way in HELL they would pay the price it cost for the iPhone and since they could never get the corp discount for buying in volume it is never going to happen there.
I run the IT department at a medium sized (3000) users. We support IMAP and POP. it is a bit of trouble, but I believe we a re a service department and the users are our customers and we try our best to give them the tools they need to e productive. What a concept.....
I will try to get an iPhone tomorrow and learn about it so I can help the other 10 employees who are also getting them tomorrow.
Clay
I will try to get an iPhone tomorrow and learn about it so I can help the other 10 employees who are also getting them tomorrow.
Clay
