If you had asked me 10 years ago whether something like this would ever happen, I’d have had a good laugh and then asked you to share whatever it was you had been drinking. But here we are, 2014, and strange bedfellows Apple and IBM have announced a “landmark” partnership in pursuit of enterprise business. And just like a Disney fairytale or the famously delicious chocolate-peanut butter confection, it turns out the mis-matched pair were made for each other after all.
Let me ‘splain:
You may have noticed that Apple, despite the proliferation of iOS devices throughout the business world, has, up until now, remained staunchly consumer focused. The primary plank in its branding was to demonstrate just how “not corporate” its devices were. Conversely, can anyone remember a time when IBM was ever viewed as anything but the epitome of big business? You can bet Apple is painfully aware of how much money it’s leaving on the table by not playing in the corporate and enterprise space, and IBM is just as painfully aware of how “not sexy” its current service offerings are. If you’ve ever used enterprise software (SAP, Oracle, Peoplesoft, etc.) then you know just how awful the experience is. Now imagine Apple lending its design sensibilities to a UI that interfaces with IBM’s monstrously powerful back office software – and oh, by the way, you can use it on this shiny iPad? Move over Brangelina, here comes the new “power couple” of the decade!
