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Apple may not be announcing it tomorrow at their press conference, but the Gartner Group believes that an enterprise version of the iPhone is inevitable, according to ZDNet.

I discussed some of the enterprise issues that affect iPhone users on July 6. For a sole proprietor or a very small business that already uses Macs, iPhones may make sense, especially for new media and web design firms. iPhone doesn’t seem to work reliably with iTunes for Windows, from what I’ve read.

TCO: it all adds up

Another important consideration is total cost of ownership (TCO). TCO is a common benchmark for information systems managers that adds up the entire cost of a product, including associated services, maintenance, replacement costs and training. I discussed some of these issues in my June 27 and June 6 posts.

iPhone users must have their own computer with iTunes and a broadband connection. That’s the only means of activating an iPhone, establishing an account, syncing the iPhone, and updating the device.

Larger companies that deal with compliance issues may want to avoid the iPhone as a corporate device. iPhones are expensive to acquire and replace, have limited storage space, and offer limited support for Microsoft Exchange.

Tech: Microsoft has done it again. What were they thinking? According to Gartner, Windows XP Starter Edition is a non-starter, and will actually encourage customers to get a pirated copy of Windows. XP SE is the version that MS developed for the Asian market, as a response to Linux and software piracy. What a bargain! XP SE can’t run more than 3 programs at a time. It has no user accounts, so everyone runs as root. Worst of all, the OS can’t handle hardware upgrades. If you add more RAM, the OS won’t recognize the new memory. I got better performance running DOS in 1989.

Tech: iPods are security risk, warns analyst - ZDNet UK News: Gartner is not exactly anApple fan club. Wonder what Gartner will say about the upcoming Windows media players? “Companies should consider banning portable storage devices such as Apple’s iPod from corporate networks as they can be used to introduce malware or steal corporate data, according to an analyst. Small portable storage products can bypass perimeter defences like firewalls and antivirus at the mailserver, and introduce malware such as Trojans or viruses onto company networks, claimed analyst Gartner in a report issued this week. ”