As aficionados of all things technology related, most IT professionals jumped on the smartphone bandwagon very early. In recent years, the iPhone has become one of the more popular smartphones in IT shops.
Yet, until recently, there was a dearth of iPhone apps specifically geared toward IT professionals. The few tools available tended to be half-baked or lacking in critical functionality.
Because of this, IT pros learned quickly not to rely too heavily on the iPhone for any real-world tasks. Instead, we used desktop or laptop computers as workhorse devices for getting things done. Any iPhone app taken up was used either for novelty purposes or as a last resort when there was no access to a PC.
Times have changed. Now we're seeing high-quality apps coming from developers who understand IT -- and from technology vendors themselves. In my experience, some mobile apps designed for IT users perform better than their desktop or Web-based alternatives when it comes to ease-of-use. Some IT professionals can perform nearly all their duties from an iPhones. That's pretty incredible when you think about it.
Unlike other InformationWeek reports, where we've featured iPhone apps that could be equally useful to IT and business users alike, here we're focusing on 10 iPhone apps that only an IT professional would use. In most cases, we've focused on applications that are universal tools, ones that can be put to use in any enterprise IT shop.
In other cases, the app may be proprietary to a specific technology vendor. We encourage you to ask your vendor of choice if a similar iOS app is available.
Once you've reviewed our picks, let us know which of these you use. Tell us about any other IT-focused iPhone apps you rely on, and why you like them. See you in the comments section below.