Recently I had the opportunity to address two groups of Corporate Developers that are targeting iPhone and iPad as a deployment platform for their Enterprise. During the seminars both myself and a few other Sybase colleagues covered such subjects as Management and Security of iOS devices through our integration with Apple's new MDM (Mobile Device Management) protocol along with unwiring enterprise data from heterogeneous back ends to primarily iOS devices, though others are also possible. This last point is achievable through the use of a Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP), of which Sybase has the market leader in SUP or the Sybase Unwired Platform.

During and after the events I was able to have several very interesting conversations with attendees from a wide variety of industries.... Finance. Utilities, Manufacturing, Medical and Services, to pick a few. One low level theme that kept on reoccurring, so much so that I feel compelled to report on it, was the theme of...

Brand as one of the underlying project drivers.

It seems, is that a number of large corporate customers feel that if they are a serious Brand, and let's face it if they don't feel that way they really are not serious about winning in business, that they should have a brand presence in the App Store. In fact it is becoming more like a necessity, but Why? The answer comes in two parts…

• Firstly, some are going onto iOS app development before their competition, leading the way to drive new business and customer satisfaction, as well as customer retention and new sales.
• Secondly, some are being forced, though indirectly, due to the fact that their closest competitors are reaping the reward already and they are being forced to play catch up.

This second point is not a great position to be in, but one that has it's advantages, of which is that your app can go beyond what others have defined as the de-facto standard in your area of business, adding new functionality and usage scenarios.

Outside of these seminars, I have also had first hand experience of hearing so many iPhone Users say, 'Why is there not an App from my favorite...?' So, whichever group you are in, the Trailblazers or the Followers, the point to remember is that more and more…

'You are not a Brand leader unless you have an App Store presence!'