IBM and Apple have introduced their first apps for business professionals, five months after announcing a mobility partnership to bring IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone and iPad.
The first ten mobile apps – including those for transportation, financial services, retailing, telecommunications and government – are designed to give executives analytical capabilities within apps built for Apple’s familiar operating system iOS.
The apps fall under the new brand name ‘IBM MobileFirst for iOS’, and combine IBM’s business knowledge – across analytics, cloud, security and mobile – with Apple’s expertise in user-centric design and consumer experience.
“What we are delivering aims directly at the new quest of business — smart technologies that unlock new value at the intersection of big data and individual engagement,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior VP at IBM Global Business Services. “Our collaboration combines IBM’s industry expertise and unmatched position in enterprise computing, with Apple’s legendary user experience and excellence in product design to lift the performance of a new generation of business professionals.”
Apple’s senior VP of worldwide marketing Philip Schiller added: “This is a big step for iPhone and iPad in the enterprise, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new ways organisations will put iOS devices to work. The business world has gone mobile, and Apple and IBM are bringing together the world’s best technology with the smartest data and analytics to help businesses redefine how work gets done.”
Built exclusively for iPhone and iPad, IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps are delivered in a secure environment, embedded with analytics and linked to core business processes.
The apps can be customised for any organisation and deployed, managed and upgraded via cloud services from IBM specifically for iOS devices, with security across the data, app and device.
This first suite of IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions are now available across multiple industries, with additional apps being continuously designed and developed.
To supplement the new apps, the partnership between Apple and IBM offers businesses additional capabilities, including IBM’s global consulting expertise, Apple’s 24/7 device assistance with on-site service by IBM, enhanced mobile management in the form of a private app catalog, and streamline procurement, deployment and lifecycle management.
