IBM and Apple join forces in the business market

IBM will ship app-equipped iPhones and iPads to enterprise customers starting next fall.

IBM has teamed up with Apple to sell app-equipped iPhones and iPads to enterprise customers starting next fall.

The announcement comes as IBM tries to focus on software and services, expecting its software sales to contribute half of its total profits in 2015.

Starting this fall, IBM will launch more than a hundred applications aimed at specific sectors such as retail, health, banking, travel, transportation and telecommunications.

Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president of IBM and head of the global services business at Apple, highlighted that "we wanted to focus on creating an absolutely irresistible workflow, processes, along with application designs that can be used by all users in the organization. We wanted to eliminate some of the current mobile barriers for companies."

This alliance will allow IBM to offer services with high security standards, mobile device management and great data analysis capabilities. For its part, it will help Apple address ongoing concerns about software security and data privacy in mobile phones, thanks to the contribution of an experienced partner who has been a leader in the sector for decades.