The Day Apple’s Enterprise Strategy Came in from the Cold

The announcement of a global strategic partnership between IBM and Apple lit up news channels, twitter feeds, and even many of the traditionally recalcitrant blogs. Why all the fuss? Because Apple has never understood the enterprise very well. It has attempted to become ‘more friendly’ over the years and extended a few fig leafs in the terms of iOS updates that address enterprise grade concerns like security, but Apple’s success in the enterprise has mostly been driven by its success as a consumer device.  It has largely entered the enterprise through the front door in an executive’s purse or pocket not via a box on the loading dock that was backed up to IT. Further, Apple has been notoriously difficult to work with often to the frustration of a CIO. In short, while Apple’s support might be “legendary” it has not been the type of story that ends with someone riding off into the sunset. Which brings us back to the impetus behind this deal. At its core it is about Apple realizing it will never understand the enterprise and that there is no better partner to get them over that challenge than IBM.  This report explores why Apple had to make the move. and what is really in it for IBM.