It appears Ford does truly have “a better idea” when it comes to mobile devices for use by its employees, as the car maker is planning to transition away from the use of BlackBerry devices, providing approximately 3,300 workers with iPhones by the end of the year.
Bloomberg reports that Ford spokesperson Sara Tatchio, told them that the company is also aiming to get iPhones into the hands of an additional 6,000 corporate employees over the course of the next two years as they transition from flip phones.
Ford will hire a mobile technology analyst to oversee the move to the iPhone. Tatcho also highlighted the iPhone’s ability to meet the personal, as well as secure business needs of the auto maker’s employees as a contributing factor for the switch.
“We are going to get everyone on iPhones,” Tatchio said. “It meets the overall needs of the employees because it is able to serve both our business needs in a secure way and the needs we have in our personal lives with a single device.”
Tatchio also said having all employees on the same smartphone will improve security and simplify IT management. Ford is making “no extra investment” to make the move to the iPhone, other than the cost of the devices.
Apple recently formed a partnership with IBM, aimed at getting more Apple devices in the door at corporate customers.
The move to the iPhone by Ford has to be a blow to the hopes of BlackBerry and its Chief Executive Officer John Chen, who has sought to turn the fortunes of the struggling company around.
“While we can’t comment on this customer, we understand that there is diversity and choice in the market,” Adam Emery, a BlackBerry spokesman, said in an e-mailed statement to Bloomberg. “Enterprises should think twice about relying on any solution built on the foundation of a consumer technology that lacks the proven security benefits that BlackBerry has always delivered.”
(Via MacRumors)
