Apple and IBM team-up to design apps for iPads and iPhones
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Apple and IBM team-up to design apps for iPads and iPhones

  • Published on July 19, 2014
Apple and IBM team-up to design apps for iPads and iPhones

Apple and IBM have announced a wide-ranging partnership that is likely to put more iPads in large businesses around the world. The move will expand access to IBMs big-data crunching computing on Apple’s mobile devices. According to the companies, IBM is working on more than 100 apps that will be used across a wide range of industries such as retail, health care, transportation, banking, insurance and telecommunications. The agreement pairs Apple, known for its sense of design and emphasis on UX, with IBM’s access to powerful computing, large corporate salesforce, and large service organization.

Apple is planning to sell more of its products, particularly iPads, to corporations. As IBM creates connections into their massive computing services for iOS apps, developers who are creating for mobile and the cloud are likely to follow them. Having more developers using their platforms creates a wider range of apps for customers, and drives more users to their products.

IBM has set its focus on cloud computing, mobile computing, and data analytics. IBM CEO Virginia Rometty indicates that this partnership is at the intersection of these three areas. The objective is to design apps for iPad and iPhone that turn them into decision making tools. Currently most iPads are used for consuming content, such as watching videos, reading books, and playing games. iPads are generally not seen as tools for business applications, something that the companies hope to change with this agreement, as they seek to redefine user experences on iOS devices.

IBM also hopes to show ways in which mobile devices can be relied upon or secure and confidential work. With a team of more than 6,000 security researchers and 25 security labs worldwide, they have the means to introduce secure computing to iPad and iPhone apps. As IBM effectively endorses the iPad, it’s provides Apple with credibility over Android in the corporate market. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s continues to face a strong headwind with their attempt to place identical operating systems on tablets, laptops, and desktops with Windows 8. This partnership provides added pressure to Microsoft, who is struggling to adapt its Windows operating systems and strategy to the widespread use of tablets.

For app developers creating for mobile platforms, the User Experience (UX) courses at American Graphics Institute provide a foundation for creating apps that delight users and efficiently meet their expectations and needs.   

About the author

Christopher Smith is president of American Graphics Institute. He is the co-author of Adobe Creative Cloud for Dummies and more than 10 other books on design and digital publishing. He also served as publisher and editor of the Digital Classroom book series, which has sold more than one million books. At American Graphics Institute, he provides strategic technology consulting to marketing professionals, publishers designers, and large technology companies including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and HP. An expert on web analytics and digital marketing, he also delivers Google Analytics classes along with workshops on digital marketing topics. Christopher did his undergraduate studies the at the University of Minnesota, and then worked for Quark, Inc. prior to joining American Graphics Institute where he has worked for 20 years.