On the topic of the Enterprise, Apple's CEO Tim Cook noted in a new Businessweek interview made public today that he thinks that it's "like the mother of all opportunities. At one point in time you had to choose, 'Do you want to do consumer or enterprise?' But the reality today is a bit different: Enterprises are a collection of consumers.

In the past, almost all applications were being written on Windows. So the Mac gradually lost its positions in enterprise. But today's a different world. For most enterprises, iOS is the preferred mobile operating system. IOS is a fantastic platform because of the ease with which you can write apps that are great for helping you run your business efficiently or interface with your customers directly. We see many, many enterprises now writing apps.

Cook also noted that they did some smart investments in iOS starting to make it enterprise-class in terms of security in particular. Apple also partnerned with key enterprise giants like Cisco, SAP, Deloitte, and especially IBM with their MobileFirst program.

Today, IBM announced an expansion of its mobile portfolio for enterprises as it continues to create analytics-driven and cognitive enabled enterprise iOS apps that enable organizations to accelerate digital reinvention and transform how businesses engage across industries.

Three years ago, IBM escalated its focus on mobile by partnering with Apple to deliver enterprise iOS apps that change the nature of work. Today, the partnership continues to expand, achieving several billion dollars in signings with more than 3,800 client engagements supported by market-ready and custom iOS apps designed for professions across all industries, including store associates, flight attendants, and field technicians.

In addition, new mobile client initiatives are underway to empower employees at Lufthansa Group, City Furniture, Singapore Airlines, and Japan Airlines that are equipping employees, in multiple roles, with data and analytics to provide an improved experience for their customers.

New MobileFirst 'Garages'

In order to offer clients greater access to its mobile capabilities, IBM is introducing new Garages dedicated to the quick design, integration and deployment of MobileFirst for iOS apps, adding to its growing network of global studios and labs where clients work with more than 10,000 experts in mobile and cognitive.

"Four years ago, we made enterprise mobility a reality, and we've seen how transformative mobile can be," said Bridget van Kralingen, Senior Vice President, IBM Industry Platforms. "Today, companies are now reigning in mobile faster than ever, creating a critical need for powerful innovations that will reinvent how they do business. We're combining the power of mobile with cognitive and analytics to continue to push the market forward."

IBM is expanding its network of design and development studios and Garages across the world, which currently include Atlanta, Cupertino, Toronto, Chicago and the MobileFirst for iOS Garage in Bangalore, to add global hubs in Shanghai and Bucharest dedicated to the creation and delivery of apps across mobile platforms.  

View more MobileFirst Client Testimonies here

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