Apple announced today that its new ResearchKit platform is now available to medical researchers as an open source framework. Apple first unveiled ResearchKit on stage last month during the March event, promising that it would be available as an open source framework for developers and medical researchers this month. The framework enables the medical community to use the iPhone to distribute actual medical and health research through ResearchKit-enabled apps. Expand Expanding Close
IBM this evening has announced a new dedicated health unit that will deepen its relationship with Apple. The service, called Watson Health, will use the data collected with Apple’s HealthKit and ResearchKit services to provide information to various other companies including Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic. From there, those companies can integrate the data into services they offer to healthcare companies. Apple will work to integrate Watson-based apps into HealthKit and ResearchKit for these purposes (via Forbes).
Through its MobileFirst for iOS initiative, Apple and IBM have added 8 new enterprise apps for designed exclusively for iPhone and iPad. The latest apps developed as part of the partnership between the two companies include two new industries: healthcare and industrial products. The 8 new apps brings the total of MobileFirst for iOS apps to 22, while the two new industries now totals 10 including banks, law enforcement, travel, and retail. Here are the latest iPhone and iPad enterprise apps from Apple and IBM.
Following the release of the MobileFirst suite of iOS enterprise apps last year, the result of a new partnership between Apple and IBM, today the companies are rolling out the apps to the Japanese market.
The companies haven’t made an official announcement yet, but sources close to the situation say seven apps are arriving for Japanese customers today. Expand Expanding Close
Apple and IBM today unveiled three new enterprise apps developed for iOS as part of their ongoing ‘IBM MobileFirst for iOS’ partnership. The new apps include Advisor Alerts, Passenger Care, and Dynamic Buy. The three apps, a combination of both iPhone and iPad software, join the original set of 10 announced last year and another new app recently announced bringing the collection of apps announced under the deal to 14 total across eight industries including retail, banking, and transportation.
A new report today (via Gigaom) has provided some more information about the alliance the two companies recently forged. According to UBS analyst Steven Milunovich, Apple has taken a dominant role in the relationship, demanding that IBM salespeople carry MacBooks pre-loaded with sales presentations created by Apple.
While IBM has mostly been building software for businesses like reators and banks, the analyst’s note indicates that the company may soon branch out into other offerings as well, potentially including supply chain applications and the like.
Apple is looking to hire individuals across the US for a team of IBM Business Development Executives that “will be accountable for all aspects of the Apple and IBM partnership for a defined geographic and account set territory.” That means Apple is hiring a team of individuals that will act as company liaisons to help roll out and oversee sales teams pushing the new Apple/IBM iOS solutions to enterprise customers. The positions, which are industry and region-specific, also show Apple’s plan for the upcoming expansion of its enterprise solutions for new industries including manufacturing and healthcare. Expand Expanding Close
IDC is out today with its numbers on tablet shipments for Q4 2014 showing Apple remained on top of the market both last quarter and throughout 2014 despite a slight drop in overall market share.
Apple sold 21.4 million iPads during the holiday quarter last year, which gave the company around 28% market share compared to 33% with 26 million units sold during the same quarter last year. Apple beats out number two Samsung, according to IDC, which grabbed 14.5% of the market in Q4 with 11 million units shipped. Samsung also dipped in overall market share from 17.2% with 13.5 million units shipped in the year ago quarter. Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s press release yesterday noted “all-time record revenue from iPhone and Mac sales as well as record performance of the App Store,” while remaining silent on iPad sales. The reason? The slide continued last quarter, with year-on-year sales down 18%, and a reduction in average selling price meaning revenue was down 22%.
Tim Cook acknowledges that the switch to larger-screened iPhones mean the iPad is being squeezed from both sides.
There’s probably some level of cannibalization that’s going on, with the Mac on one side and the phone on the other.
It’s also undeniable that people upgrade their iPads less frequently than their iPhones–Cook putting the number at “somewhere between” the 2-year cycle of the iPhone and 5-year cycle of Mac–meaning that Apple needs to find a continual stream of customers buying an iPad for the first time … Expand Expanding Close
After first announcing a major partnership earlier this year, Apple and IBM unveiled today a list of new enterprise apps focused on various industries including retail, government, banking, travel, and more. This is the first glimpse of what the collaboration between Apple and IBM actually looks like, and below you can see exactly what these enterprise apps look like and what they do for their respective industry. Check out each app name and description below (click for full size): Expand Expanding Close
Following an announcement earlier this year that Apple was teaming up with IBM to deliver a number of enterprise solutions, today Apple has officially announced the first wave of iOS apps being released through the partnership. As part of IBM’s “MobileFirst for iOS,” Apple and IBM today announced 10 new apps designed specifically for businesses including banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and for governments and airlines.
“This is a big step for iPhone and iPad in the enterprise, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new ways organizations 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.”
The apps launching today through the partnership include Plan Flight and Passenger+ for the travel industry, Advise & Grow and Trusted Advice for the banking and financial industries, Retention (insurance), Case Advice and Incident Awarefor government, Sales Assist and Pick & Pack for retail, and Expert Tech for telecommunications industries. Apple notes that the apps offer customizable experiences and are “managed and upgraded via cloud services from IBM specifically for iOS devices.”
In addition to the new apps, which Apple described in more detail in its press release below, Apple noted other services that will go hand-in-hand with the apps. Those include integration with IBM’s Mobile Platform and Enterprise solutions as well as AppleCare for the Enterprise, Apple’s new business specific tech support service introduced as part of the IBM deal.
If I told you about a touchscreen smartwatch with a crown-driven interface and a UI based on circles (despite the square display) that can allow you to view your contacts, calendars, and more, you’d probably have a pretty good idea what I was referring to: the upcoming Apple Watch.
But actually, you’d be wrong. I’m really referring to the 2001 WatchPad from IBM, seen in the video above. It seems Apple’s latest creation isn’t nearly as original as they’d hoped.
Maybe IBM should take out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal saying “Welcome, Apple. seriously.”
Apple is today expanding its Device Enrollment Program, its service for business and education customers deploying and managing large fleets of iOS and Mac devices, to new countries. It’s also opening up the program to third-party resellers. Expand Expanding Close
A new report from Reuters citing sources at Apple familiar with the company’s plans for future corporate offerings has unveiled new details on the Cupertino corporation’s efforts to recruit business clients and software developers. According to these sources, Apple is currently courting companies such as Citigroup, ServiceMax, and PlanGrid (among others) to augment its current IBM enterprise agreement.
The exact nature of the proposed partnerships between these companies hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the general idea is similar to the IBM arrangement. ServiceMax, a company that creates solutions for managing field technicians, and PlanGrid, which allows construction workers to share blueprints with each other, will both agree to roll out Apple hardware with custom software to their clients.
The page advertises features of the program such as one-hour response times for urgent support issues and a personal account manager at Apple, as well as advantages like next-day device replacement and on-site service hardware service. Twenty-four-hour support will also be available to partner employees.
Ahrendts may have given up a CEO title when she left Burberry to head Apple’s $20 billion retail operation, but her new role puts her more in the spotlight than ever. At Apple since May, she’s now key to the success of the company’s new watch.
Following the publishing of the first half of the interview, and several subsequent clips, part two Charlie Rose’s full interview with Tim Cook is now available to watch – in full – on Hulu (below) and Charlie Roses’s website. In the interview, Cook discusses a wide variety of topics, ranging from privacy, to U2, and “what comes after the internet.”
The latest enterprise market share data from Good Technology shows that iOS holds two-thirds of the market, at 67 percent, but has dropped five points to Android – which increased its share to 32 percent. Windows Phone remains flat (and irrelevant) at just 1 percent. (BlackBerry data is not included as the company uses its own servers and activations are invisible to Good Technology.) Expand Expanding Close
Ford’s recently departed CEO and President Alan Mulally may have just joined Google’s Board of Directors, but the automobile company is handing its smartphone allegiance over to Apple. A Ford spokesperson tells Bloomberg the automobile manufacturer is positioned to replace its employee BlackBerry smartphones with company-issued iPhones to be used by its global workforce.
“We are going to get everyone on iPhones,” Tatchio said. “It meets the overall needs of the employees because it is able to serve both our business needs in a secure way and the needs we have in our personal lives with a single device.”
Having all employees on the same smartphone will improve security and simplify information technology management, Tatchio said. Ford is making “no extra investment” to convert to iPhones, other than the cost of replacing the devices, she said.
According to Bloomberg’s report, Ford will distribute Apple’s iPhone to 3,300 company employees by the end of this year while the goal is to replace 6,000 phones within the next two years. The report also notes Ford is hiring for a position to monitor global corporate iPhone deployment. Globally, Ford employs about 181,000 employees although it’s unclear from the report how many receive company-issued cell phones. Expand Expanding Close
With Apple reporting lower-than-expected iPad sales for the second quarter in a row, it’s likely that Tim Cook will be once again be called on to reassure investors that the decline in year-on-year sales won’t continue indefinitely.
Cook has been very bullish on the iPad, despite the numbers, pointing especially to growing sales in the education sector and the opportunity for tablet growth in enterprise.
The penetration in business is low, it’s only 20 percent. If you looked at the penetration of notebooks in business it would be over 60 percent. We think there is a substantial upside in business.”
I think he’s right, especially with the IBM partnership. I mentioned in my opinion piece then that increasing penetration in enterprise could also help drive consumer migration from Android, as it gives people exposure to iOS devices. But the impact this has could well be offset by the iPhone 6 … Expand Expanding Close
As we mentioned last month, Apple will today host its quarterly conference call to discuss its earnings report from the third quarter of its fiscal year: this includes 35.2 million iPhones, 13.2 million iPads, 2.9 million iPods, and 4.4 million Macs. Apple reported today that it earned $37.4 billion in revenue during its Q3 period.
Investors and analysts will surely focus on Apple’s new product plans for the remainder of this year, though, and we’ll be listening to bring you coverage starting at 5pm EST/ 2pm PST. Expand Expanding Close
Wall Street seemed pretty unmoved by Apple’s announcement of its partnership with IBM, the pre-market share price barely twitching, and analysts pointing to the high level of existing iOS usage in the enterprise sector, suggesting that only trivial gains would result.
Part of the reason for that impression is the hype Apple has given to the penetration level of iOS devices in enterprise. Back in January, Tim Cook described the numbers as “unbelieveable,” stating that the iPhone is used in 97 percent and of Fortune 500 companies and the iPad in 98 percent.
It doesn’t sound from these impressive figures that there’s much room for growth. But I think the reality is somewhat different … Expand Expanding Close
<a href="https://twitter.com/darth/status/489149634883747840/photo/1">Image by @Darth</a>
Earlier today, Apple and IBM announced an expansive, long-term partnership to integrate Apple’s iOS devices into the Enterprise with big data software powered by IBM. The partnership will allow for IBM to sell iPads and iPhones to its Enterprise customers, and the duo are also working on jointly developed software for the enterprise. The companies are also developing an enhanced AppleCare protection service for enterprise iOS device users. Following both the official announcement and a video interview discussing the plans, Apple CEO Tim Cook has sent a memo to employees detailing the partnership:
The foreman of the jury that awarded Apple just 5.5 percent of the $2.2B it claimed Samsung owed for patent infringements said yesterday that Apple should sue Google rather than handset manufacturers, reports the WSJ.
If you really feel that Google is the cause behind this, as I think everybody has observed, then don’t beat around the bush,” said Tom Dunham, whose job at IBM was to oversee developers expected to file patents. “Let the courts decide. But a more direct approach may be something to think about” …
