New iPhone features cater to IT needs So what does Apple's new iPhone 5 mean for corporate IT departments? The most immediate impact is likely to be a surge in requests from employees who have joined the BYOD (bring your own device) bandwagon and decide to buy or upgrade to the new handset later this month to connect their new devices to corporate IT systems and resources. IN The Connected Business "The addition of LTE, the improvements in battery life, performance and the camera and so on will help the device appeal to existing iPhone users and either close the gap or broaden its lead against competing devices," said Jan Dawson, chief telecoms analyst at Ovum, after the launch. It seems likely that Apple will nevertheless sell tens of millions of iPhone 5 devices in the next few months and well over 100 million in total over the next year. The adoption of LTE technology in particular coupled with the iPhone 5"s faster A6 processor will also make it possible for companies to build richer and more data hungry applications for their workforces without risking a sharp decline in performance. For example, it should make it easier and more practical to incorporate video clips into mobile apps designed to help field engineers, sales teams and itinerant executives. Built-in LTE support, coupled with support for HSPA+ networks, and faster WiFi networks mean the iPhone 5 is also more of a "world phone" than any of its predecessors - though analysts also point out that the use and planned use of different frequencies (nearly 40 at the last count) for LTE networks means that LTE is far from being the unifying global communications standard it was once touted to be. More significantly however, as Zenprise, a Silicon Valley mobile device management software vendor noted: "Apple also announced the general availability of iOS 6, and with it the introduction of several powerful enterprise features that enhance the ease with which chief information officers and corporate IT departments can put mobile to work." Apple is, to some extent, playing catch-up in this area with Android and arch rival Samsung. For example, Samsung already offers a number of enterprise-friendly features including remote management and heavy duty encryption with its flagship Galaxy III device - the first to comply with the Samsung Approved for Enterprise (SAFE) programme. Nevertheless, the inclusion of new features such as "App Lock" in iOS 6 - and therefore into the iPhone 5 and upgraded versions of the iPad - is likely to be of particular interest to corporate buyers. Apple's "App Lock" (or Guided Access) locks the device down allowing only one application to run. This, points out Zenprise, will allow an organisation to offer purpose-built iOS devices to its workforce with significantly fewer security concerns. In addition, when paired with the geo-fencing (location tracking) features built into most mobile device management applications including Zenprise, this will allow, organisations to offer "mobile devices in kiosk-mode together with perimeter-based security, data protection and compliance." As a practical example, Zenprise cites the case of hospitals where medical professionals typically push around large computers on wheels, or COWs, as they call them. These large workstations act as mobile kiosks where doctors and nurses monitor and update electronic medical records or EMRs. "With iOS 6 App lock and Zenprise geo-fencing, hospitals can replace these kiosks with easy-to-manage iPads," said the company. Not only will the treatment of patients be more efficient, hospital IT departments can be confident that protected health information (PHI) is secure.