Apple/IBM Enterprise Mobility Solutions Due in November
The initial wave of industry-specific solutions from this summer’s Apple (AAPL)/IBM (IBM) enterprise mobility alliance will hit the market in November, according to Apple chief executive Tim Cook.
The initial wave of industry-specific solutions from this summer’s Apple (AAPL)/IBM (IBM) enterprise mobility alliance will hit the market in November, according to Apple chief executive Tim Cook.
On Apple’s FQ4 2014 earnings call Cook briefly revealed that solutions in banking, government, insurance, retail, travel and transportation and telecommunication “will be ready for customers” starting sometime in November. IDG News Service first reported his remarks.
“We [forged] a landmark partnership with IBM to provide a new generation of mobile enterprise application designed with our products legendary ease of use and backed by IBM’s cloud services and data analytics,” Cook said. “Our partnership aims to redefine the way work is done, address key industry mobility challenges and sparked true mobile-led business change,” he said.
“Developer teams have been working closely to develop the first wave of Mobile First solutions and these solutions will be ready for customers beginning next month across six sectors; banking, government, insurance, retail, travel and transportation and telecommunication.”
In July, the two IT giants pledged a collaboration to raise each company’s mobile profile among business accounts. Part of the initiative includes building industry-specific business apps for iOS-based mobile devices. While the two companies had tried unsuccessfully in the past to work together, what could make this arrangement different is they need one another to mine the business mobility market more effectively than they can on their own.
The nuts and bolts of the deal is IBM committed to build more than 100 enterprise solutions, including native applications for businesses in retail, health care, transportation and others, for Apple’s iPhone and iPad; develop new cloud services optimized for iOS, including device management, security, analytics and mobile integration; and, construct new packaged offerings for device activation, supply and management.
Apple said it will bring to the party new AppleCare service and support offering tailored to the needs of enterprise customers. And, as part of their enterprise mobility collaboration, IBM gains access to resell iPhones and iPads to its corporate customers.
As Cook referenced, the new iOS mobile solutions will be housed in IBM’s MobileFirst for iOS Solutions business apps portfolio.
IBM rolled out its MobileFirst program early in 2013, with a goal to catch the mobility wave as it crests to the enterprise where the real money is—in the transformation of businesses to fully mobile enterprises, spanning application development, security, analytics and cloud-based services. While the vendor is no stranger to mobile development and mobility services, laying claim to nearly 300 wireless-related patents and a number of mobile acquisitions in the past few years, its MobileFirst has lacked a springboard platform.
