z*******n
发帖数: 1034 | 1 July 17, 2014 4:00 PM
Cimarron Buser, Apperian
Apple and IBM announced a global partnership for “enterprise mobility”
this week, but what does this truly mean for enterprises?
What can we expect to see in terms of real deliverables in the next 6-12
months? Let’s take a look at the four “core capabilities” the new
partnership will address.
A new class of more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions
IBM is putting a stake in the ground — promising to build 100 new apps,
including native apps developed exclusively from the ground up for iPhone
and iPad. This is an awesome goal and will help get companies thinking more
about employee enablement.
From a practical standpoint, Apple has made no secret that it wants
developers to build fully “native” apps, that is, apps built specifically
for iOS that take advantage of the unique iPhone and iPad features. But
enterprises have shown increased interest in “cross platform” and HTML5
based solutions such as Appcelerator, Xamarin, and IBM’s own Worklight
solution to leverage development budgets.
Apple has historically taken a dim view of apps created with “cross
platform” solutions. The company believes that the user experience and
performance are never quite as good as the “full native” solution that can
be built with Apple’s Xcode.
So will IBM be fully supporting Xcode with its tools? Or perhaps using Apple
’s new Swift programming language (which Apple announced at its WWDC event
in June)? Or will IBM morph the Worklight solution or the IBM MobileFirst
solution so that it’s set to be more iOS specific, and deviate from the
cross-platform message? Time will tell. When we start to see the first set
of “native apps” coming from IBM, it will be interesting to see what “
native app” really means, but we are excited to see a focus on business and
employee empowerment no matter how apps are built.
Unique IBM cloud services optimized for iOS
IBM has assembled a portfolio of solutions that provide mobile device
management, app level security, and numerous analytics approaches for both
apps and back end management. Their emphasis on the IBM Cloud Marketplace
and the Bluemix development platform can support the iOS environment. What’
s interesting is that the Fiberlink MDM technology IBM recently acquired
will no doubt be a major component of this solution, but since many existing
customers already have MDM from the likes of Mobile Iron or AirWatch, or
use MAM from Apperian it is not clear they will want a “rip and replace”
solution. IBM will need to figure out a cooperative strategy with existing
infrastructure to make this successful.
New AppleCare service and support tailored to the enterprise
AppleCare for Enterprise is a great idea and will be warmly received by IT
departments and their users. This may be one of the most critical – and
potentially commercially successful – aspects of the partnership if
executed well, as companies can take advantage of IBM’s highly rated on-
site service backed up by the Apple 24×7 helpdesk. This is the safety
blanket that an IT department will have no problem selling internally, and
it could give both companies an edge over the fragmented Android hardware
environments. More importantly, it’s a bulwark against the oncoming
Microsoft mobile attack, since Microsoft has been a known quantity for years.
New packaged offerings for device activation, supply, and management
IBM will now become, in essence, a “master distributor” for iPhone and
iPad hardware, which includes the ability to provide device activation and
management. In the past, companies could only do bulk enrollment via direct
purchase from Apple, which limited IT’s ability to roll out to employees.
This is great news for IBM, since it can become the “single throat to choke
” for device delivery, configuration, management, and support. IBM Global
Financing can also add leasing and other options that provide flexibility in
purchasing — something that Apple does not necessarily provide today.
This week’s announcement is a win for both Apple and IBM. The “halo effect
” of having IBM’s blessing for Apple hardware and the iOS operating system
will be a positive, and the unified front in supporting business efforts to
deploy, manage, and support Apple devices will be welcome news to
enterprises.
With the “100 apps” goal and the value highlighted in this partnership,
companies will be more willing to invest in mobile projects to help
employees. More challenging may be the delivery of apps and solutions under
the “IBM MobileFirst” umbrella, which is a collection of acquisitions and
technologies that are still being melded into a coherent offering.
The idea of “made for business” apps is appealing, but the reality is that
larger organizations may need significant customization to make apps work.
This is not bad news, since IBM has a strong consulting organization in IBM
Global Business Services, but then IBM will be competing in a multi-platform
, multi-back end world that is definitely not Apple-only.
Cimarron Buser leads Apperian’s global business development efforts,
establishing and supporting partnerships, working with leading ISV and OEM
partners, and finding new routes to reach customers. He has worked in
technology companies for many years, providing creative and visionary
leadership for products and services in the digital publishing, web and
mobile arena. | z*******n
发帖数: 1034 | 2 Apple's Swift development language, introduced in early June, could get a
big shot in the arm thanks to the partnership. "It certainly looks like IBM
will be retraining a bunch of its consultants in Swift -- that might push a
few of its customers down that direction too -- which would be a long-term
win for Apple," said Forrester analyst Jeffrey Hammond.
Allen, who has studied Swift, does not see the language as specifically
geared toward business apps, although it does offer security benefits.
Security of course, is a principal concern of enterprises. "There is nothing
specific to Swift for business. It's an alternative to Objective-C that is
more 'modern' and thus can address some of the common errors a programmer
can make while coding."
Swift, however, was designed for safety, with variables that have to be
initialized before use; arrays and integers that are checked for overflow;
and automatic memory management. "Thus, it would be much less likely that a
bug like Heartbleed would happen with Swift." The language also can be much
faster than Objective-C, but it's very much still in development, Allen
stressed.
【在 z*******n 的大作中提到】
: July 17, 2014 4:00 PM
: Cimarron Buser, Apperian
: Apple and IBM announced a global partnership for “enterprise mobility”
: this week, but what does this truly mean for enterprises?
: What can we expect to see in terms of real deliverables in the next 6-12
: months? Let’s take a look at the four “core capabilities” the new
: partnership will address.
: A new class of more than 100 industry-specific enterprise solutions
: IBM is putting a stake in the ground — promising to build 100 new apps,
: including native apps developed exclusively from the ground up for iPhone
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