Apple and IBM are releasing the first 10 apps born of the pair's MobileFirst initiative, an alliance that melds the iOS maker's mobile expertise with the Armonk, N.Y., services provider's cloud and enterprise power.
The partnership, formed last summer, has attracted Air Canada, Banorte, Citi and Sprint as clients. The apps are designed to address needs in government, insurance, banking, finance, law enforcement, travel and telecommunications sectors.
"There's terrific energy in our collaboration with IBM and Apple around the goal of equipping our professionals with mobile capability that will create new competitive advantage and enable us to re-imagine how we share our knowledge to improve the quality of life for our clients," says Heather Cox, chief client experience, digital and marketing officer for Global Consumer Banking at Citi.
The first batch of MobileFirst apps include Expert Tech, which uses FaceTime to connect customers and technicians to an organization's offices; Sales Assist, which connects associates with customer data; Pick & Pick, which uses proximity technology to streamline order fulfillment; and Incident Aware, an app that plots out crimes and crashes on maps in real time.
The alliances' first 10 apps also include Case Advice, which helps caseworkers establish priority with big data insights; Retention, an app for insurance agents that helps them gauge a customer's risk of vacating services; Trusted Advice and Advise & Grow, apps that mobilize a financial adviser's ability to leverage analytics; Passenger+, which arms flight crews with tools to offer recommendations to passengers; and Plan Flight, which help pilots better manage fuel.
IBM and Apple's partnership was formed back in July, though the initiative's name, MobileFirst, was only revealed around the start of November. With Apple needing a route into the enterprise and IBM desiring to move beyond its struggling hardware sales, the pair put aside competitive differences in hopes of enjoying mutual gains.
"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," says Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president of IBM's Global Business Services.
While Apple and IBM's relationship seems poised to take the pair to new heights, BlackBerry and Samsung have hooked up on a similar venture into the enterprise. Back in November, BlackBerry announced that its trusted BlackBerry Enterprise Server will help carry Samsung's apps and mobile devices into the enterprise sector.
