Yesterday, the corporate marriage between Apple and IBM made headlines. Basically, IBM will bring its enterprise know-how and analytic engines to Apple’s hardware and customer service party. The partnership is a shot across the bow for most other firms, including Microsoft (the consummate enterprise partner ), Google/Samsung (whose Knox enterprise security feature aims to allay privacy fears in the C-Suite), and, of course Blackberry, for whom Apple’s move is less a warning shot than a nail in the coffin.
The move seems wise for Apple and IBM on several other accounts: IBM will be able to deliver its services through Apple’s superb hardware and software, presumably reducing the learning curve for its analytics software as employees bring their iPads into work. And for Apple – whose place in the upscale phone market is both cemented and somewhat saturated – the IBM partnership offers a new market for it conquer, and a new place for the halo effect to begin its work. iMacs in the accounting department, anyone?
