Apple has made it clear that it has no plans to allow third-party applications to become available on the iPhone, but this is not worrying on-demand software houses.

Many such companies now feel that this lockdown could be another boost to the popularity of on-demand services.

NetSuite, for example, has just launched an application suite for the iPhone.

"While the version of Safari the iPhone runs is very close to the desktop version, some porting was needed," said Craig Sullivan, vice president of international products at NetSuite. 

"But if companies make the investment, on-demand services on the iPhone could be very popular."

Other manufacturers are also gearing up for the iPhone. "We expect all on-demand vendors to tailor their business applications to work well on the iPhone," said Clarence So, chief marketing officer at Salesforce.com EMEA.

"Our users want to be able access their company information anytime, anywhere. They do not really care if it is using their laptop or iPhone, they just want to do their jobs quickly and efficiently."