No iPhone for CGI members

We learned yesterday that Bell will launch its new high-speed packet access (HSPA) network next month, and to celebrate this event Bell customers might be able to offer the iPhone to its angry customers. It’s not official yet, but everyone can imagine Bell is eager to whack Rogers and its iPhone monopoly. Telus might join the fight soon as well.

Of course I expect my mailbox to be full by the end of the day with requests from CGI members asking to get an iPhone from Bell as soon as it comes out. CGI members get their company phone from Bell since they are a client of us. You scratch our back, we scratch yours, it's like business is done.

What’s wrong, don’t you like your Canadian-made Blackberry? I like my Blackberry, since it allows me to send e-mail to my staff during the night and I expect them to read it of course.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the iPhone is a nifty piece of technology but it doesn’t fully serve the CGI mission. For one thing, there’s no enterprise server. And the enterprise server is yet another excuse to sell consultants to a customer. Remove the server, and you remove possible revenues. I hate that.

So before you send me e-mail stating your love of Apple technology, consider the impact of the iPhone on CGI. Meditate on this for a while. Could a less expensive technology better serve our dream and mission? What about our partnership with Microsoft? Could Steve Ballmer be offended by our attitude toward Apple? At a time when CGI might sold for a large sum of money. Hum?

Think about that before you bug me with your childish requests. Please.