A closer look at the IBM and Apple tie-up
IBM XCITE 2014 zooms into the exclusive and Apple deal on ‘a new class of business apps’
Most mobile phone and device users download an app, use it once, then remove it. An International Business Machines (IBM) executive made this observation during the technology and consulting giant’s IBM XCITE 2014 conference recently in Singapore, underscoring one of IBM’s latest high-profile partnerships—that with Apple Inc., makers of the iPhone and iPad.
The IBM and Apple partnership will redefine the mobile enterprise, according to Tim Greisinger, IBM vice president for its Smarter Cities arm and leader of the company’s Systems of Engagement program. “It’s an exclusive partnership [that will] transform enterprise mobility through a new class of business apps,” Greisinger explains. “The partnership will be harnessing capabilities of IBM in big data and analytics, and bring this to the iPhone and iPad.”
The apps to be created by the IBM and Apple partnership aims to “transform specific aspects of how businesses work” to raise efficiency and customer satisfaction, “faster and easier.”
Power coupling
While the partnership was officially announced as early as July, it was during IBM XCITE 2014 when IBM was able to give a fuller presentation of what the tie-up will be about for businesses and organizations. In an official statement from IBM headquarters, the company explains that the partnership “is a powerful extension of [their] existing MobileFirst portfolio” and is their response to the world’s “historic shifts [in] data, cloud and engagement at the level of individuals. IBM foresees this shift as something that will define the migration of value in our industry, and shape the agenda of global business.”
The partnership also goes in line with IBM’s current focus on the business of big data analytics, as stated in their current financial reports. The company has also just announced last October a deal with social micro-blogging site Twitter, a deal which will see IBM’s clients gaining access to millions of daily Twitter posts, and through IBM’s supercomputer Watson platform, be able to analyze all the tweets for marketing and product trends.
“Apple is no stranger to the world of enterprise. iPhones and iPads can be found in 98 percent of the Fortune 500. The collaboration 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 legendary consumer experience,” IBM headquarters declares.
Practical applications
The apps and cloud software services to be developed and sold under the partnership will have four common characteristics: ( 1) each addresses an industry priority or “pain point”; (2) each is powered by analytics and integrates with the core enterprise processes and data; (3) each is designed for mobility, not reverse engineered for a mobile device, and; (4) each unlocks a new possibility in the way work is done, focusing on real-time action, from showroom to shop floor. The first apps are set to come out late this year.
The apps will run on Apple’s signature mobile devices, the iPhone and the iPad. These apps will be available even for the latest iPhone6 and iPad models. Both companies will focus on delivering the IBM MobileFirst platform for iOS solutions. “We will create an exclusive suite of more than 100 new IBM MobileFirst for iOS business apps that fuse Apple’s legendary ease- of- use with IBM’s unmatched industry depth, enterprise software and big data analytics expertise,” according to IBM.
When asked to explain the practical benefits of their Enterprise Mobility program, where the tie-up with Apple is in line, IBM cites several examples.
For sales associates, it means “having access to real-time product, inventory and location information, as well as analytics- based insights into customer profile data that will allow them to delight the customer and ‘ save the sale’ by delivering a real-time recommendation.”
As for flight crews, it translates to “providing them with powerful realtime information about a passenger’s preferences and travel patterns when faced with a delay or cancellation, so the crew can instantly suggest the next best customer action.”