“Watch out Blackberry, the iPhone is coming to eat your lunch — again,” Brian Solomon reports for Forbes. “On Tuesday afternoon, Apple and IBM announced a partnership to build enterprise apps designed exclusively for iPhones and iPads. The collaboration is expected to bring more than 100 apps to iOS with IBM providing the cloud services. Together, the pair hope to combine strengths — Apple’s consumer device know-how with IBM’s sterling enterprise reputation. As part of the agreement, IBM will also sell iPhones and iPads, preloaded with ‘industry-specific solutions’ to business clients.”
“But it’s also trouble for Blackberry, who recently doubled-down on the enterprise market with their QNX software. Blackberry shares surged last week after its efforts to get in on the burgeoning health care devices market in India were revealed,” Solomon reports. “Now those shares have done a U-turn, sinking about 8.5% in Wednesday morning trading… Blackberry investors can’t like seeing two tech behemoths entering the business space with such force.”
“‘The partnership’s software around data security and device management pose immediate threats to mobile device management (MDM) software solutions deployed by firms such as BlackBerry,’ Morningstar analyst Brian Colello wrote in a new note,” Solomon reports. “In a statement, Blackberry responded to the Apple-IBM alliance with fierce words, saying it ‘only underscores the ongoing need for secure end-to-end enterprise mobility solutions like those BlackBerry has delivered for years. Enterprises should think twice about relying on any solution built on the foundation of a consumer technology that lacks the proven security benefits that BlackBerry has always delivered.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Beleaguered BlackBerry is dead. No need to think twice about that.
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The Apple-IBM alliance is satisfying at so many levels.
It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
MSFT – Surges
INTC – Surges
IBM – Surges
Apple – Fluctuates around its $96
Blackberry – Plummets.
Guess it is a good deal for MSFT and INTEL too.
I’d mentioned earlier that Microsoft would be untouched by Apple/IBMs alliance. Wall Street sees Apple as a joke in the enterprise and Microsoft investors are backing it up. I’m not sure what is continually driving Microsoft up towards $50 a share but it’s definitely a steady climb that is easily pacing Apple in YTD share price rise. Apple was supposed to be putting Microsoft to rest but it’s not turning out that way at all. Microsoft’s share price should really take off when all those employees get the axe. Investors simply love to see employees get fired.
Where’s all this Microsoft revenue coming from to drive up the share price? I haven’t heard anything about it. There’s no innovation and Surface sales are poor. I honestly don’t get it.
I feel the same way. There’s nothing interesting coming out of Redmond, so I can’t understand the share price going up as it has.
I disagree with the Wall Street pundits as I see the alliance being great for both Apple and IBM. I see no downside for Apple and a big upside by gaining more credibility in the enterprise sector. I’m sure the halo effect will help there too, aided by the ever tightening iOS/OS X integration. I see more Macs in enterprise as a result a few years down the road.
Hurting BB bad, but look at MS up 3.5%, IBM 2.6% and AAPL is now up only 0.7% and dropping. I had guessed we would have seen MS hurting, not booming and AAPL booming. How is this possible? Every news story is positive. Nuts, just nuts.
I think expectation of the redundancies and now announcement of them has been the main factor, no sympathy from investors when extra profits are sniffed no matter what the reasons.
Anyone betting on Blackberry to win the day is placing a fool’s bet, but we’ve all known about that for a long time so why is their name even seriously mentioned anymore being an also-ran. DCW – Dead Company Walking
I’d forgotten all about Blackberry! Yeah. This does not bode well for the bowl circling phone maker.
The physical keyboard dependent should practice the fetal position now — you don’t want to be caught unprepared.
Fetal position? Maybe using these desks?
http://www.theonion.com/video/more-office-workers-switching-to-fetal-position-de,36240/
I can certainly see why their shares surged last week. After hearing that Blackberry has jumped into the India health devices market, who could resist?
Blackberry should team up with wired magazine to write a new article about how Apple could be really successful and profitable if only they’d listen to their advice. And talk to them in a condescending manner as if they were conversing with someone completely retarded in modern business affairs.
Like this one: http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/5.06/apple.html
This is the same old Blackberry knee-jerk FUD and condescension. These guys never learn to shut up.
Looks like iPhones and Touch ID are about to supplant Plastic Cards.
Amateur hour over?
What the hell does that mean?
It seems that Blackberry can’t help but shoot itself in the foot. How many businesses are willing to trust their security to a company that threw away their market leadership out of sheer pig-headed stubbornness and has been circling the drain for years? They might have had a chance a while back but instead of getting their new OS out in time for the holidays, threw their resources as some other failed project. Now they’re proud of their square screen.
THIS is going to get many enterprise companies singing, all on its own:
A new “AppleCare for Enterprise” will be Apple’s new support service for businesses, providing 24/7 assistance along with on-site service delivered by IBM.