Blackberry, which has already given up on angling for a piece of the consumer smartphone market against Samsung, Microsoft and Apple, may have to defend its last remaining stronghold. The company, which has concentrated on making mobile devices for business users, will soon have to defend its turf against encroaching invaders from IBM and Apple.
The IBM-Apple alliance is targeting the enterprise segment of the mobile market, a space where Blackberry has managed to prolong dominance, through iPhone and iPads that come fitted with specific apps for business users.
In a press release, Apple said that the partnership, which will commence starting this fall, will yield more than 100 "industry-specific solutions" that are designed for its iPhones and iPads. The tie-up is also expected to lead to the introduction of IBM cloud services that are optimized for the iOS, as well as a modified version of AppleCare for business users.
As stipulated in the agreement, IBM will be selling iPhones and iPads. The projected result of the collaboration, which will be called IBM MobileFirst for iOS, is said to be the combination of the strengths of the two companies. What IBM brings to the table is its expertise in big data and analytics. Apple, on the other hand, knows what works with consumers.
Blackberry, which had its stock dip after news of the IBM-Apple deal came out, scoffed at its new competitors, warning businesses against relying on unproven security solutions.
"The news that Apple is partnering with IBM to expand into the enterprise mobility market only underscores the ongoing need for secure end-to-end enterprise mobility solutions like those BlackBerry has delivered for years. Enterprises should think twice about relying on any solution built on the foundation of a consumer technology that lacks the proven security benefits that BlackBerry has always delivered," the company said in a statement.
Before the Apple-IBM partnership was publicized, Blackberry's shares have been on an upswing for about a month due to an earnings report that beat forecasts.
This is not the first time that IBM and Apple have joined forces. Back in the early '90s, IBM and Apple were part of the AIM alliance with Motorola. The goal of that collaboration was to topple the more dominant pairing of Windows and Intel in the computing market.
