APPLE IS TEAMING up with former nemesis IBM in an attempt to sell more iPhones and iPads to corporate customers and government agencies.
The partnership calls for the two technology companies to work together on about 100 different mobile applications designed for a wide range of industries.
The applications, expected to be released this fall, will feature some of data-crunching tools that IBM Corp. sells to companies trying to get a better grasp on their main markets while scouring for new money-making opportunities.
IBM is also pledging to provide better security to reassure companies concerned about hackers stealing vital information off the mobile devices of employees doing less of their work on desktop and laptop computers.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said his company is turning to help from IBM because it doesn’t understand the needs of corporate customers as well as it does consumers.
IBM CEO Ginni Rometty said the alliance will help her company by widening the audience for its technological tools, providing bigger returns on the roughly $24 billion that IBM has invested in data analytics.
“It’s a watershed partnership that brings together the best of Apple and the best of IBM,” Cook said during an interview at Apple’s Cupertino, California headquarters.
Underscoring the importance of the alliance, Rometty flew from IBM’s Armonk, New York headquarters to join Cook for the announcement.
“This is about two powerhouses unleashing the power of mobility for (businesses),” Rometty said. “This is going to remake professions and industries.”
By joining forces, Apple and IBM are hoping to build mobile applications that prove iPhones and iPads can serve many other business purposes besides checking email and keeping track of appointments. Cook says the devices are already used for work within all but a handful of Fortune 500 companies.
Both Apple and IBM are counting on their foray to boost their own revenue. The companies both have been facing concerns on Wall Street about whether they will be able to accelerate their revenue growth at a rate that will propel their stocks higher.
Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs, Cook’s predecessor, never concealed his disdain for IBM, but longtime Apple analyst Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies is convinced Jobs would have hailed Tuesday’s news as another step away from the days when IBM’s mainframe computers dominated technology. “Steve would have loved this,” Bajarin said. “It shows that the post-PC era is in full swing now.”
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