IBM to Offer iOS Enterprise Solutions Plus They Will Sell Enterprise Enabled iPhones and iPads

My, my how the world has changed. Remember the 80’s when IBM led the PC charge and Apple’s Mac was the little engine that could. General sentiment was that PC’s were for serious work and Macs for the more artistically slanted.

Not anymore as the iPhone and iPad reign supreme and PC sales continue to plunge like a flaming meteor. And now IBM and Apple are teaming up in a new enterprise mobile partnership with the IBM’s MobileFirst for iOS solutions and Apple’s AppleCare for Enterprise. 

If you want to see how much the world has changed, check out this statement: “iPhone and iPad are the best mobile devices in the world and have transformed the way people work with over 98 percent of the Fortune 500 and over 92 percent of the Global 500 using iOS devices in their business today,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “For the first time ever we’re putting IBM’s renowned big data analytics at iOS users’ fingertips, which opens up a large market opportunity for Apple. This is a radical step for enterprise and something that only Apple and IBM can deliver.”

- A new class of more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions including native apps, developed exclusively from the ground up, for iPhone and iPad.

- New IBM cloud services optimized for iOS, including device management, security, analytics and mobile integration.

- New AppleCare service and support offering tailored to the needs of the enterprise.

- New packaged offerings from IBM for device activation, supply and management.

The new IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions features IBM’s big data and analytics capabilities, with Apple’s hardware and software integration and developer platform. Apple’s AppleCare for Enterprise will provide IT departments and end users with 24/7 assistance from Apple’s customer support group, with on-site service delivered by IBM.

As part of the IBM MobileFirst for iOS agreement, IBM will also sell iPhones and iPads with these industry-specific solutions to business clients worldwide. Wow!

- Mobile platform: The IBM MobileFirst Platform for iOS will deliver the services required for an end-to-end enterprise capability, from analytics, workflow and cloud storage, to fleet-scale device management, security and integration. Enhanced mobile management includes a private app catalog, data and transaction security services, and productivity suite for all IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions. In addition to on-premise software solutions, all these services will be available on Bluemix - IBM’s development platform on the IBM Cloud Marketplace.

- Mobile service and support: AppleCare for Enterprise will provide IT departments and end users with 24/7 assistance from Apple’s award-winning customer support group, with on-site service delivered by IBM.

- Packaged service offerings: IBM is introducing IBM MobileFirst Supply and Management for device supply, activation and management services for iPhone and iPad, with leasing options.