Apple, IBM, deliver business apps

Apple and IBM have delivered the first set of IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions in a new class of made-for-business apps.

IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions are now available to enterprise customers in banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and for governments and airlines, thanks to a collaboration between Apple and IBM. IBM clients today announcing support for IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions include: Citi, Air Canada, Sprint and Banorte.

What we’re delivering aims directly at the new quest of business‚Äîsmart technologies that unlock new value at the intersection of big data and individual engagement,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services. “Our collaboration combines IBM’s industry expertise and unmatched position in enterprise computing, with Apple’s legendary user experience and excellence in product design to lift the performance of a new generation of business professionals.

“This is a big step for iPhone and iPad in the enterprise, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new ways organisations will put iOS devices to work,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The business world has gone mobile, and Apple and IBM are bringing together the world’s best technology with the smartest data and analytics to help businesses redefine how work gets done.

In targeting key opportunities and priorities within industries, IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps take enterprise mobility a level deeper, helping employees access their company’s full capabilities wherever they interact with clients‚Äîfaster, easier and more securely than ever before.

Built exclusively for iPhone and iPad, IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps are delivered in a secure environment, embedded with analytics and linked to core enterprise processes. The apps can be customised for any organisation and easily deployed, managed and upgraded via cloud services from IBM specifically for iOS devices, with security across the data, app and device. This first suite of IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions are now available across multiple industries, with additional apps being continuously designed and developed:

• Plan Flight (Travel and Transportation) addresses the major expense of all airlines—fuel—permitting pilots to view flight schedules, flight plans, and crew manifests ahead of time, report issues in-flight to ground crews, and make more informed decisions about discretionary fuel.

• Passenger+ (Travel and Transportation) empowers flight crews to offer an unmatched level of personalised services to passengers in-flight—including special offers, re-booking, and baggage information.

• Advise & Grow (Banking and Financial Markets) puts bankers on premise with their small business clients, with secure authorisation to access client profiles and competitive analyses, gather analytics-driven insights to make personalised recommendations, and complete secure transactions.

‚Ä¢ Trusted Advice (Banking and Financial Markets) allows advisors to access and manage client portfolios, gain insight from powerful predictive analytics‚Äîin the client’s kitchen or at the local coffee shop, rather than the advisor’s office‚Äîwith full ability to test recommendations with sophisticated modelling tools all the way to complete, secure transactions.

‚Ä¢ Retention (Insurance) empowers agents with access to customers’ profiles and history, including an analytics-driven retention risk score as well as smart alerts, reminders, and recommendations on next best steps and facilitation of key transactions like collection of e-signatures and premiums.

• Case Advice (Government) addresses the issue of workload and support among caseworkers who are making critical decisions, one family or situation at a time, on the go. The solution adjusts case priorities based on real-time analytics-driven insights, and assesses risk based on predictive analysis.

• Incident Aware (Government) converts an iPhone into a vital crime prevention asset, presenting law enforcement officers with real-time access to maps and video-feeds of incident locations: information about victim status, escalation risk, and crime history: and improved ability to call for back-up and supporting services.

• Sales Assist (Retail) enables associates to connect with customer profiles, make suggestions based on previous purchases and current selections, check inventory, locate items in-store, and ship out-of-store items.

• Pick & Pack (Retail) combines proximity-based technology with back-end inventory systems for transformed order fulfilment.

• Expert Tech (Telecommunications) taps into native iOS capabilities including FaceTime for easy access to expertise and location services for route optimisation to deliver superior on-site service, more effective issue resolution and productivity as well as improved customer satisfaction.

Mobile innovations are driving profound impact on how Citi delivers superior client experiences, particularly those that extend our enterprise expertise all the way to the point of customer contact,” said Heather Cox, Chief Client Experience, Digital and Marketing Officer for Global Consumer Banking at Citi. “There’s terrific energy in our collaboration with IBM and Apple around the goal of equipping our professionals with mobile capability that will create new competitive advantage and enable us to re-imagine how we share our knowledge to improve the quality of life for our clients.

To supplement the IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps, the partnership between Apple and IBM offers business customers additional levels of capability integrated for enterprise mobility, including:

‚Ä¢ Mobile Platform and Enterprise Integration‚ÄîLeveraging IBM’s global industry consulting expertise, client experience design and enterprise systems integration 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‚ÄîIBM’s development platform on the IBM Cloud Marketplace.

• Supply, activate and manage—Streamlined end-to-end procurement, deployment and lifecycle management—at scale: along with cloud solutions for enterprise security, device management, and data and process integration. IBM Global Financing leasing options and services to allow organisations to keep pace with latest device releases.

‚Ä¢ AppleCare for the Enterprise‚ÄîProviding IT departments and end users with 24/7 assistance for their devices from Apple’s award-winning customer support group, with on-site service delivered by IBM.

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