“Apple’s newly announced mobile partnership with IBM has been greeted by a number of analysts and pundits as being both ‘not that big a deal,’ or conversely, the dramatic reversal of a long standing rivalry,” Daniel Eran Dilger writes for AppleInsider. “Both are wrong, here’s why.”
“Apple and IBM are not suddenly working together for the first time,” Dilger writes. “In retrospect, the historical partnerships between Apple and IBM didn’t have a very good track record. Taligent and Kaleida were total failures, while PowerPC failed to keep up with the pace of the greater market. IBM Lotus Notes and Symphony did not exactly transform the industry on any platform. But today’s Apple and IBM share little in common with their previous incarnations in the 1990s. Apple is now not only very successful and profitable, but has a virtual lock on mobile enterprise products, and in particular devices with a sophisticated native app development platform (as opposed to BlackBerry’s messaging-centric platform built as a simple Java VM).”
“Since the iPad’s debut in 2010, marketing companies have deliberately framed it as a niche device with no possible impact on PC market, using selected data teased into conclusions that consistently flattered Microsoft regardless of the data involved,” Dilger writes. “With a major ally in IBM helping to sell its products, Apple will likely face less overtly deceptive media coverage denying the now clear and obvious shift occurring as conventional PCs are replaced and augmented by more mobile—and much easier to manage—post PC devices.”
Tons more in the full article – recommended – here.
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Attempting to put a negative spin on all that Apple is doing is Samsung/Android first and last line of defense. The more Apple succeeds, the mightier the haters fall. Their spinmeister hack press buddies can only do so much; eventually the righteous will win as the public becomes informed. Go Apple/IBM; great out-maneuvering Tim Cook.
This is all great, but WHY does IBM need to do a deal with Apple? Why wouldn’t iBM simply approach institutions with the IBM solution and say “…BY THE WAY it runs on an iDevice you can pick one of those up online”.
I believe that Apple is going to help develop the iOS software that brings the IBM services to the platform, and likely tweak a thing or two in iOS to optimize. Apple’s part of the deal is to make iOS devices “the tits” for using IBM enterprise services.
What people are not understanding is that as we speak IBM has on-site IT consultants at many large corporations. At the corporation where I worked these consultants wielded considerable power over the IT department, the same kind of power IT used to wield over other departments. If the IBM consultant recommends something, it not only makes it hard for IT to casually reject it. It means they have to have a good, valid reason to reject it. Aside from that, if the IBM guy recommends something, IT can adopt it without worry of having to take the blame for it if it doesn’t work out.
The IBM consultant also acts as a doorman for the IBM sales force, opening doors for them, and sending sales people for competing companies on their way. This is what Apple gets out of the deal, along with INM applications optimized for Apple products. This is a monumental development. Most analysts don’t understand how IBM operates these days. They can’t see the possibilities inherent in this new relationship. This partnership gives Apple a fast lane to adoption in enterprise. Yes, Apple had a toehold in most Fortune 500 companies, but this gives them a stranglehold.
IBM, not INM….typo.
Precisely, Zeke! And…
Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM neatly preserves the job security of I.T. Apple just acquired a bulletproof vest.
Sad but true state of affairs in the majority of the corporate and government world.
This is one small step to eroding IBM’s power.
Unfortunately it will the the “IBMer” who is closest to the customer on a day to day basis and will have the last say with the customer. That’s the risk to Apple on this.
“This is one small step to eroding IBM’s power.”
Huh?
Interestingly, Microsoft got big jumping on the IBM platform and writing software for it.
Could IBM make it big by jumping on the Apple mobile platform and writing software for it?
Time will tell.
Gotta love Dilger’s articles. Always insightful and informative.
Always a treat to read. Thanx DED.