NEW YORK -- Apple (IW 500/4) (AAPL) and IBM (IW 500/11) (IBM) unveiled a "landmark" partnership Tuesday to win over business customers by offering iPhones and iPads that are specially tailored to the enterprise users.
The tie-up, which aims to boost Apple's share of the market for mobile devices for businesses, will offer custom-made apps which bring the power of IBM's supercomputing analytics to a mobile workforce, a joint statement said.
"The landmark partnership aims to redefine the way work will get done, address key industry mobility challenges and spark true mobile-led business change," the statement said. "Apple and IBM's shared vision for this partnership is to put in the hands of business professionals everywhere the unique capabilities of iPads and iPhones with a company's knowledge, data, analytics and workflows."
The companies plan to release more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions including apps developed for the iOS platform, along with IBM cloud services, security and analytics.
A survey by Strategy Analytics said Android grabbed 65.8% of global tablet sales in the first quarter, up from 53% a year ago. Apple meanwhile saw iPad sales slump and its market share tumbled to 28.4% from 40.3% a year earlier.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
