Sybase announced it will provide enterprise-level support for the iPhone through its Information Anywhere Suite. That means secure Lotus Domino and Microsoft Exchange e-mail, as well as other device management controls to keep IT happy.Sybase's Information Anywhere Suite has long been a solid mobile enterprise performer. It combines mobile e-mail, contact management, and device management into one product and lets IT control it from a usable console. iAnywhere has supported a wide range of devices over the years, including the Palm, Symbian, and Windows Mobile platforms. Well, now it includes the iPhone as well.

"We've had significant demand from our customer base for iPhone support, as companies want to allow the iPhone as an approved device choice for wireless e-mail, along with their other ... devices," said Mark Willnerd, Sybase iAnywhere VP. "In addition, we are excited by the recent release of the Apple iPhone SDK. We are currently exploring new possibilities for future product enhancements and additional iPhone support across our entire Information Anywhere Suite mobility platform."

This is exactly what the iPhone needs if it is to truly become an enterprise player. If other enterprise companies such as Sybase step up and offer to support it, then it has a better chance of making an impact.

In a prepared statement, Sybase listed the following advantages offered by iAnywhere:

• Security: Information Anywhere provides iPhone support without requiring changes to an enterprise's messaging infrastructure. Information Anywhere adds specific features to equip IT with the ability to eliminate security risks with iPhone devices, such as restricting attachments, preventing user access, and removing e-mail data from a device. All of these features reduce potential security concerns with iPhone use in the enterprise.

• Offline E-Mail Access: Information Anywhere supports the native iPhone client, which provides a feature rich and faster user experience than found with browser-based e-mail support. In addition, e-mail is available for offline use.

• Contact Data Access: Information Anywhere provides secure access to contact data, including corporate directory and personal contacts.

• Multidevice Support: Information Anywhere addresses the extreme demand corporations face to support a variety of mobile devices. Sybase iAnywhere now supports the iPhone, in addition to more than 250 Windows Mobile, Symbian, and Palm-based devices.

• Broad Enterprise E-Mail Support: Information Anywhere supports both Lotus Domino R6/7/8 and Microsoft Exchange 000/2003/2007.

Sybase says it will have its iPhone support system in place by the end of this month. We look forward to what Sybase does with the iPhone SDK in future revisions of its enterprise portfolio.