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36. Apple Devices Flow Into Corporate World

Apple Devices Flow Into Corporate World
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304244904579278560822979176

By Daisuke Wakabayashi
Updated Jan. 9, 2014 8:02 p.m. ET

As technology shifts from personal computers to smartphones and tablets, Apple Inc. AAPL -0.54% is expanding its reach into a lucrative customer base: companies.

The popularity of the iPhone and iPad among employees is prompting corporate tech managers to rewrite policies and change traditional buying patterns. The iPhone has replaced the BlackBerry as the mobile phone of choice, as the iPad assumes tasks once reserved for PCs.
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Apple historically made little effort to sell to businesses. Under Chief Executive Tim Cook, however, Apple is quietly moving to appeal to corporate tech managers, by making it easier to link iPhones and iPads to corporate email systems, and to better protect corporate data. In the latest example, the new Mac operating system Mavericks includes enhanced security and data-encryption technology aimed at corporate customers. The efforts are magnified by the growing appeal of Apple products.

When business apps are offered on phones or tablets, they are overwhelmingly on Apple devices. More than 90% of all business apps were deployed on Apple's iOS mobile-operating system in the third quarter, according to Good Technology, which provides mobile-security software and tracks mobile-device use by more than 5,000 corporate customers.
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Write to Daisuke Wakabayashi at [e-mail]