Apple and IBM Forge Partnership to Transform Enterprise Mobility

RMN Digital | July 16, 2014 | Applications, CIO Info, Corporate, Enterprise, Enterprise Tech, Feature, Strategy | No Comments

Apple and IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced Tuesday an exclusive partnership that teams the market-leading strengths of each company to transform enterprise mobility through a new class of business apps—bringing IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone and iPad.

The partnership aims to redefine the way work will get done, address key industry mobility challenges and spark true mobile-led business change—grounded in four core capabilities:

• a new class of more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions including native apps, developed exclusively from the ground up, for iPhone and iPad;

• unique IBM cloud services optimized for iOS, including device management, security, analytics and mobile integration;

• new AppleCare service and support offering tailored to the needs of the enterprise; and

• new packaged offerings from IBM for device activation, supply and management.

The new IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions will be built in an exclusive collaboration that draws on the distinct strengths of each company: IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities, with the power of more than 100,000 IBM industry and domain consultants and software developers behind it, fused with Apple’s consumer experience, hardware and software integration and developer platform.

The combination will create apps that can transform specific aspects of how businesses and employees work using iPhone and iPad, allowing companies to achieve new levels of efficiency.

As part of the exclusive IBM MobileFirst for iOS agreement, IBM will also sell iPhones and iPads with the industry-specific solutions to business clients worldwide.

“For the first time ever we’re putting IBM’s renowned big data analytics at iOS users’ fingertips, which opens up a large market opportunity for Apple. This is a radical step for enterprise and something that only Apple and IBM can deliver,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

“Mobility—combined with the phenomena of data and cloud—is transforming business and our industry in historic ways, allowing people to re-imagine work, industries and professions,” said Ginni Rometty, IBM chairman, president and CEO. “This alliance with Apple will build on our momentum in bringing these innovations to our clients globally.”

Apple and IBM’s shared vision for this partnership is to put in the hands of business professionals everywhere the capabilities of iPads and iPhones with a company’s knowledge, data, analytics and workflows.

In the picture above: Tim Cook, Apple CEO and Ginni Rometty, IBM CEO. Photo courtesy: Apple / Paul Sakuma