Getting' Hot Up In Here!

By  Susan Nunziata

Suddenly, everybody wants to court the enterprise.

At least, that's how it seems if you look at the way smartphone marketers have been duking it out in recent months.

As we went to press in mid-August 2009, Microsoft and Nokia announced a global alliance to put Microsoft Office Mobile on Nokia smartphones, along with sundry other productivity-enhancing tools.

Meanwhile, Google is setting its sights squarely on the enterprise, with plans to include support for business users in its Android platform. T-Mobile introduced the MyTouch 3G on August 5, and there are reportedly18 additional Android-based handsets due on the market by year's end, including a lineup from Motorola.

The Palm Pre and its new WebOS platform, released on the Sprint network in June, is also geared toward the enterprise, and work is underway to further build up the biz app offerings, even as Verizon lines up its own Palm Pre for 2010.

Apple even made a point of heralding iPhone-friendly enterprises in its 3Q 2009 financial results, when it revealed that 20% of the Fortune 100 companies have orders in place for 10,000 or more iPhones each. In fact, Apple recently debuted case studies on its website from iPhone enterprises of all stripes, ranging from Kraft to Sunbelt Rentals.

And smartphones aren't the only game here in enterprise town. Wireless carriers are also getting aggressive in the netbook space, while Apple is rumored to have its own netbook in the wings later this year.

What's this all about? Based on recent conversations with end users and vendors alike, it appears that enterprises, government organizations and educational institutions that have been battered by the economy in the past year are more driven than ever toward exploring mobile solutions. With pressure at an all-time high for everyone to do more with fewer resources, implementing the right mobility solutions across an organization can show quick and measurable results.