Round-Up of Enterprise iPhone Stories

The iPhone going enterprise means a lot to corporate IT departments who are about to field questions from users clamoring to get the device for work purposes. But the amount of news coverage on anything Apple can be pretty daunting. Here’s a round-up of required reading:

First, to get the basics, you might want to read MacWorld’s iPhone Software FAQ. It details what the software development kit means for businesses (and developers) trying to create enterprise-worthy applications for the iPhone.

Saul Hansell of the New York Times makes some interesting points about Apple’s decision to control the apps that go onto the iPhone, and the opening to this blog post was well-put: “Think of Apple as the Singapore of the technology world. It is impeccably clean, very functional, supportive of capitalism — and ruthless with miscreants.”

A couple reporters did their homework and didn’t drink the Apple Kool-Aid right away. One, my colleague and CIO’s mobile guru Al Sacco, writes that the iPhone’s price, keyboard functionality, and application distribution top the list of hurdles remaining for the iPhone to truly become the mobile device of enterprises. In this post, Ben Worthen of the Wall Street Journal’s Business Technology blog contacted the Forrester analyst who wrote 10 Reasons IT Should Not Support the iPhone, though some venomous Apple fans took issue with that in the Journal’s comment thread.

Harry McCracken of PC World takes a more moderate view, noting that he liked the announcement but still had nearly 10 questions about iPhone software, including the peculiar absence of Microsoft (whose Exchange server Apple announced it would support).

During yesterday’s announcement, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers announced the start of a $100,000,000 iFund to help find the next Google or Amazon of the mobile space. KPCB partner Matt Murphy, who will manage the fund, did this Q&A with CNET, where he hints at what types of developers will get the money. Let’s just say overvalued widget companies might not be in on the top of the list.

And finally, assuming you’re ready to take the plunge of adopting iPhones into the enterprise, InfoWorld gives you this helpful how-to guide.

I’m sure I missed a few. Feel free to add some links below and we can amass a larger guide.