I'm potentially a new iPad developer (been developing Windows apps for about 25 years) and have a question on getting an app approved.

If the app (it will be a business productivity app) will be communicating with a server app (probably a Web Service) running on a Windows Server and running Microsoft SQL, IIS, etc., is it likely that the app will be rejected by Apple?

I need the app to be able to upload and download data from my web and db servers. I've been reading up on iPad development and I'm very interested but before I take the plunge (need to purchase a Macbook and an iPad) I wanted to make sure that in the end I wouldn't encounter resistance when getting the app approved.

I know nothing is certain but I was mainly curious about Apple's policy toward device communication with non Apple servers and software. The intended iPad app will also be designed to run totally stand-alone without access to external servers, but I also need it to communicate with my current web application.

Any thoughts on this subject are greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Bob

I'm surprised you didn't get a response to this - if nothing happens soon, I'll move it to the Help section..

Tim

Thanks!

I'm looking into SQLite for a DB resource which I know runs well on the iPad so connecting directly to a Windows Server for SQL access may be a moot point! I probably will not run into any provisioning issues given that setup, but it would be nice to hear from somone who has done something similar.

Hi there,

you can communicate with whatever service you like, if you stick to the policies. Meaning that it is important what your app is doing, not with what technologie.
We ran IIS on Windows Server for our application AppZapp over a year now.
Hope i could help.

Hi,

There is a lot of financial, educational and entertainment software that communicates with web and database servers. Your app should be fine. Apple checks for functionality, crashes and "easter eggs". Register as a developer and you'll find a lot of info and tips.

Definitelly you can communicate with any service. Service is not an iPad app, so no difference for Apple.