When Apple and IBM recently announced that they joined forces to align mobile, Big Data, and analytics into a central access point for iPad and iPhone users, it made perfect sense.
With IBM’s surging influence in the analytics and Big Data market space, Apple products serve as the ideal vessels to drive information across different mobile landscapes. Big Blue will be able to tap into a whole new base of users across the globe who have been waiting for the day they can use their iPads and iPhones to access decision-making support capabilities wherever they go.
Specifically, Apple is feeding more analytics and Big Data consumption for a base of mobile users that are soon to become the millennial standard. VMware refers to this group as “anytime, anywhere workers”. These individuals travel more and check their devices in airport terminals and during the cab rides back-and-forth. According to Vodafone, 82% of employees use at least one travel app. They are constantly looking to stay engaged with the information they need to stay productive.
To that end, according to CIO Insight, one of the biggest footholds IBM has gained is with senior decision-makers. These decision-makers—such as CIOs—make up a significant portion of the world-wide mobile user base and are responsible for making purchasing decisions. As a result, there is potential to drive additional iPad and iPhone purchases in enterprise settings.
In a conversation with CNBC, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated, “I think that the people that will really benefit from this are the enterprise customers who can be more productive running their businesses.”
From an industry-based data consumption standpoint, one can see how on-the-go consumers will benefit from unfettered analytics access. For instance, healthcare professionals can use iPads to dissect patient data on different hospital floors, or retailers can use their iPhones to track in-store customer activities.
There will be a rollout of natively built apps for iOS that target other industries such as banking, transportation, and telecommunications. These apps are specifically designed and configured to take advantage of the functionality of Apple devices.
How do you see this move advancing analytics through Apple devices? Let us know your thoughts!
