Earlier today my colleague, Eric Zeman, reported that IBM is ready to extend Notes access to the iPhone. Now one rumor claims that AT&T will offer the iPhone to its business customers. Who said the iPhone was not ready for the enterprise?

The Boy Genius Report claims they have the skinny on AT&T and its business subscribers. Here is what they have to say:

Thanks to one of our tipsters, we just got news that AT&T will be announcing iPhone compatibility to corporate and business accounts on January, 21st. The best part? If you have a corporate discounts, they are still valid! There’s said to be special iPhone data plans of $25 or higher that the business customer must subscribe to. Additionally, there will be no equipment discounts (obviously), and there’s a special activation process you’ll have to run through before going to iTunes and activating.

Coupled with support from iAnywhere, this could mean that many corporate AT&T customers will soon be able to stay productive and watch movies on the go all on their iPhones. Holy consumer effect, Batman.

While Apple has traditionally avoided the enterprise market -- and most mobile analysts continue to claim that the iPhone is not ready for the enterprise -- it sure looks like Apple is preparing the iPhone for the business market.

What do you think? Will AT&T roll out business customer support for the iPhone? And if so, how long until the iPhone becomes competitive with the BlackBerry?