Analyst: UBS May Move 1/3 of its BlackBerrys to iPhone

UBS may move up to one third of its BlackBerrys to iPhone, according to a note from UBS analyst Maynard UM of UBS. Mr. Um said that in a panel discussion within UBS, the company’s IT department said that many employees want to be able to carry both their personal and business data on one device, and that this could result in a shift of many of the company’s BlackBerrys to other devices, such as the iPhone.

According to Fortune, Mr. Um wrote:”UBS panelists noted it is currently testing software from Good Technology that works with a multitude of devices such as Apple’s iPhone, and allows for personal and business content to be accessed in a secure way on a single device. Our panel felt that as much as 1/3 of UBS’s 18,000 [Research in Motion] devices could possibly migrate to other platforms once the technology is fully integrated.”

Apple’s history in the Enterprise space is spotty, at least with the Mac, but the iPhone has found IT converts far and wide. A significant move into a major Wall Street firm could offer the company even more of a perceived value boost when it comes to corporate legitimacy for the device.

Research in Motion’s BlackBerry, however, has dominated the Enterprise smartphone market for years, thanks in part to its ability to integrate well into Microsoft Exchange networks. iPhone supports Exchange, too, but BlackBerry maintains an edge in its capabilities in this area. BlackBerry does not have the consumer cachet of the iPhone, though, which likely is where UBS’s employee desire is coming starting.