Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management
    • Mobile
    • Networking

    Apple Poaching RIM People for Enterprise iPhone, iPad Sales

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    November 29, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Apple has lured at least five members of rival Research In Motion’s enterprise sales team to sell the iPhone and iPad to more corporate accounts.

      Until just a few years ago, RIM BlackBerry commanded over half of the U.S. smartphone market, challenged mainly by Microsoft Windows Mobile.

      Apple’s iPhone burst out of the gate on AT&T in 2007, with Google’s Android platform launching far more slowly on the T-Mobile G1 in 2008.

      Apple’s iOS, along with Google’s Android operating system, has spent the better part of 2010 pecking away at RIM’s and Microsoft’s shares of the smartphone market.

      Now Apple is snapping up RIM employees. According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited LinkedIn profiles, some five members of RIM’s enterprise-sales team have left the company to join Apple.

      This includes Geoff Perfect, who led strategic sales at RIM for nearly five years before joining Apple in 2009 as head of enterprise iPhone sales.

      Joe Bartlett, Steve Marshall and Peter Decker, all sale-oriented experts, all left RIM in January 2010 and eventually landed at Apple. RIM Strategic Account Manager Paul Alvarez left RIM in June.

      Bartlett sells iPhones and iPads to companies in New England. Marshall and Decker are listed as iPhone sales reps for the Greater New York City area, according to LinkedIn. Alvarez now works in enterprise iPad and iPhone sales in Canada.

      These men are all propelling iOS-based devices in the corporate sector, which is normally reticent to increase consumer products.

      However, the consumerization of consumer electronics and the Internet is leading many companies to loosen the reins over devices employees use, according to research from mobile management software provider Good Technology.

      Apple CEO Steve Jobs knocked RIM on his company’s fourth-quarter earnings call last month, noting that it’s “going to be a challenge for them to create a competitive platform.”

      RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie fired back at the Web 2.0 Summit two weeks ago, challenging Apple’s model of a closed platform for development and rampant application development.

      Still, Balsillie’s claims pale next to the evidence of RIM’s crippled market share, Apple and Android’s surge, and RIM’s loss of salespeople to Apple.

      Industry analyst Rob Enderle said there is likely little RIM can do to staunch the bleeding of market share and employees at this point.

      “The corporate market is RIM’s market, and Apple has been closing on the company steadily while RIM has shown little ability to really fight back. RIM either needs to significantly up their game or plan to cede this market to Apple, Google and even Microsoft.” he said.

      Industry analyst Jack Gold disagreed.

      “I don’t know if this means that much. Good salespeople are highly mobile, often jumping to other companies when the sense is there is an upside potential for making new sales,” Gold told eWEEK.

      “This is clearly an indication that Apple is serious. But it doesn’t mean that all of the RIM installed base will just go away.”

      Clint Boulton

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×