5 Reasons the IBM-Apple Team Will Succeed
Published July 17, 2014 11:00 AM
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Updated July 17, 2014 11:04 AM
1 Min Read
Apple and IBM are burying the proverbial hatchet to jointly pursue the fast-growing enterprise mobile market. IBM MobileFirst for iOS Solutions, the name for the partners products, for vertical businesses will become available starting this fall and into 2015, the companies said. The apps will be developed exclusively for iPhone and iPad and feature IBM cloud services optimized for iOS, including device management, security, analytics and mobile integration. The long-term success of this deal will hinge upon IBM delivering enterprise mobile services that combine device and cloud capabilities, and on Apples success in retaining and growing its leadership in mobile handsets and tablets that enterprise employees want, Forrester says. Theres much to be done for this new partnership to create great products and services, which will take time, but the research firm gives the deal a strong chance of succeeding for a few reasons:
Exclusive elements to this partnership such as IBMs investments in native iOS apps and Apples anointment of IBM with global partner status indicate that theres significant commitment of assets and cooperation by both partners.
IBM has the ability to broker enterprise licensing agreements that will add a measurable contribution to both companies bottom lines through bulk purchasing.
As Android threatens iOS, Apple must double down on the consumer activities that are now its financial foundation. As Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft and salesforce.com encroachon IBMs enterprise franchise with their cloud offerings, IBM must double down on its enterprise investments.
Neither company can lead in both enterprise and consumer markets alone, but both companies need to bridge enterprise and consumer opportunities.
Google will need to invest in enterprise sales and support or find a partner thats ready-made for enterprise collaboration. Large systems integrators such as Accenture and Deloitte are logical choices to complement the expanding and connected Android ecosystem with enterprise services and solutions. But Forrester says it cant ignore the potential that an Oracle tie-up would bring to Google if both parties can settle their litigation over the future of Java, application programming interfaces and virtual machines.
For more on the partnership: The Insurance App Side of the IBM and Apple Partnership What IBM-Apple Partnership Really Means for Businesses Photo courtesy of Fotolia