The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has hired at least five enterprise sales staff members from Research In Motion in the 18 months.
In the past 18 months, at least five members of RIM’s enterprise-sales team have left the company to join Apple. This includes Geoff Perfect, who served as Head of Strategic Sales at RIM for nearly five years before leaving in April 2009 and joining Apple a month later as Head of Enterprise iPhone Sales, according to LinkedIn, the online networking service for professionals.
The report goes on the mention what Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at the company’s previous earnings conference call, that 80% of the Fortune 500 companies are currently utilizing iPhones, or they are piloting them. Jobs also pointed out that they beat Research In Motion in sales.
The movement of personnel from RIM to Apple underscores Apple’s aggressive push into the corporate-smartphone market, which RIM has traditionally dominated. On its fourth-quarter earnings call in October, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies are deploying or piloting the iPhone.
On that same call, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs triggered a war of words with RIM co-Chief Executive Jim Balsillie by taking several swipes at RIM during the call. For instance, Jobs noted the iPhone outsold the BlackBerry in RIM’s corresponding quarter and he questioned the viability of 7-inch tablet computers, which include RIM’s upcoming PlayBook. Apple’s iPad tablet is 9.7 inches.
So, Apple is working to make the iPhone, or more likely their entire iOS platform, a business tool. This won’t be as easy for Apple, as was the consumer electronics market. The reason? The same reason the enterprise market still uses PCs instead of Macs- habit.
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