Banks consider iPhone etc. for corporate email access

Talk about kicking a guy when he's down. While RIM is still reeling from controversy (and financial loss) concerning their limited-access enterprise servers, multiple financial institutions are now considering allowing other devices to be used for corporate email.

JP Morgan Chase & Co is apparently testing the iPhone and certain unnamed Android devices in order to determine their potential as secure corporate devices. A spokesperson from UBS also confirmed that they are considering allowing the iPhone as a corporate device. Standard Chartered, a British bank, has already given employees the option of switching to the iPhone.

The corporate clientele of the BlackBerry has been its bedrock, and the BlackBerry has been the supposed gold standard of security. As these new doubts snowball and such big-named institutions put their trust in other brands, RIM might lose even more footing in the war of the smartphones. This loss of corporate market share along with the weak welcome of the BlackBerry Torch are sure to strain investor and consumer confidence.

source: Reuters