[Knocks]

I am switching from Blackberry to iPhone (my employer supports both, as long as you bring your own device) and have a few questions.

A couple of weeks ago, while using my personal Blackberry for work email, I noticed something disturbing. My phone was bricked for an unknown reason. IT was able to return it to factory state, wiped the device, and I returned it to the store for an exchange.

I came back and set up the replacement Blackberry, synced it to my corporate Exchange profile, and all of a sudden all the data from my old phone came back, including ALL my SMS and MMS messages, call logs, and even wallpaper and alarm settings. I was NOT using Blackberry Protect, so I suspect that EVERYTHING in my phone was synced to my Exchange profile, including my personal data. The IT guys claims that only work-related stuff is synced, but that's clearly incorrect, as I saw all the data resurrect on a brand new phone.

I am now getting an iPhone and will have corporate email installed on it. My question is whether IT will be able to do the same thing and sync things other than corporate email to my Exchange profile. I am very disturbed by the fact that my texts and MMS were stored on some company machine as a backup somewhere. Is this stuff possible with iOS? I really hope iOS corporate services are not as intrusive as BES, and that's one of the reasons I'm swapping for an iPhone.

Anyone with in-depth knowledge of corporate email (especially former Blackberry users), I would love to hear your take.

[ivan1.ruiz]

The only great ting a bb can do is email. I like the email on the iPhone but bb still has that better. Don't get me wrong I would never own a blackberry nor would I give my iPhone for one lol


" Think different"

~ Steve Jobs ~

[Alli]

Your iPhone Exchange profile only includes email and contacts. Messages are totally separate. Not a problem.

[asggold]

I am switching from Blackberry to iPhone (my employer supports both, as long as you bring your own device) and have a few questions.

A couple of weeks ago, while using my personal Blackberry for work email, I noticed something disturbing. My phone was bricked for an unknown reason. IT was able to return it to factory state, wiped the device, and I returned it to the store for an exchange.

I came back and set up the replacement Blackberry, synced it to my corporate Exchange profile, and all of a sudden all the data from my old phone came back, including ALL my SMS and MMS messages, call logs, and even wallpaper and alarm settings. I was NOT using Blackberry Protect, so I suspect that EVERYTHING in my phone was synced to my Exchange profile, including my personal data. The IT guys claims that only work-related stuff is synced, but that's clearly incorrect, as I saw all the data resurrect on a brand new phone.

I am now getting an iPhone and will have corporate email installed on it. My question is whether IT will be able to do the same thing and sync things other than corporate email to my Exchange profile. I am very disturbed by the fact that my texts and MMS were stored on some company machine as a backup somewhere. Is this stuff possible with iOS? I really hope iOS corporate services are not as intrusive as BES, and that's one of the reasons I'm swapping for an iPhone.

Anyone with in-depth knowledge of corporate email (especially former Blackberry users), I would love to hear your take.

I was in the same position as yourself a few months ago when I moved from a Blackberry to an iPhone. I also connected through work to the BES. When connecting through your iPhone it is a bit different. The full backup of your iPhone is actually on what ever computer you sync with iTunes on, not the Exchange Server. The only thing your company will see on the Exchange side are your Emails (for your work email only), your contacts (again, only the ones you sync with your work account), and your Work Calendar. The only other possible option of what they can see would be if you sync your "Notes" with Outlook and that is connected with your Exchange Server.

Hope that helps!

[korp#IM]

In the end, if you hook up to an exchange server such as corporate server's you are at the mercy of the IT admin ... in the name of "security".

[mab4285]

Your iPhone Exchange profile only includes email and contacts. Messages are totally separate. Not a problem.

It also includes calendars, as well as email and contacts.

[Knocks]

Can they also set IT policy on it, like mandatory password length, timeout locks, etc?

What about remote wipe, can they wipe the entire device remotely or just the information tied to Exchange? On BlackBerry, they could completely wipe everything.

[Alli]

Yes, IT can set policy on it. Apple limits you to 4 digits for your password, but they can push a policy that forces a password and timeout lock.

I would check with your IT department to see what their policy is.

[Knocks]

I was informed that I have to install the Tangoe MDM app on my phone prior to having corporate email installed. It looks like this app allows them to view my device location, data usage, and possibly other things.

Anyone familiar with this app pretty well? What other surprises should I be ready for in terms of big brothering?