Apple has announced the first group of enterprise apps born out of the landmark Apple-IBM partnership. Targeted at enterprise organizations in the banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications, government and airline industries, IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions are designed to strengthen the role of the iPad and iPhone for use in large-scale business applications. The first IBM clients with MobileFirst solutions include Citi, Air Canada, Sprint and Banorte.
The IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps are delivered in a secure environment directly to enterprise customers, rather than appearing on the App Store, and are tailored to meet specific organizational needs and integrate with core enterprise processes. However, IBM provides a framework where apps can be easily customized for any organization and deployed, managed, and upgraded via IBM’s iOS-specific cloud services platform. The first suite of apps includes flight planning and passenger services for the airline industry, mobile client profile and portfolio access for the banking and financial industry, retention management for insurance companies, caseworker and law enforcement applications for government, and sales and inventory systems for the retail industry.
IBM is continuing to develop additional applications that will address various mobile data and analysis needs across a variety of enterprise markets.
Apple and IBM are also providing additional services related to the IBM MobileFirst for iOS platform, including enhanced mobile device management through IBM’s enterprise cloud systems, streamlined end-to-end procurement to allow enterprise organizations to properly manage the lifecycle of their iOS device hardware and keep pace with the latest device releases, and AppleCare for Enterprise to provide 24/7 telephone support from Apple for IT departments and end users, with on-site hardware service delivered by IBM.
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