IBM has delivered what it calls the first wave of its MobileFirst applications for Apple’s iOS. The applications are a new class of ‘made-for-business’ applications and supporting cloud services, said IBM, that it is bringing its big data and analytics capabilities to iPhone and iPad users in the enterprise.
Despite some speculation as to when the apps would appear, including fears that it would be in 2015, IBM said that its MobileFirst for iOS solutions are now available to enterprise customers in banking, retail, insurance, financial services, telecommunications and for governments and airlines. IBM clients announcing support for IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions include: Citi, Air Canada, Sprint and Banorte.
“What we’re delivering aims directly at the new quest of business — smart technologies that unlock new value at the intersection of big data and individual engagement,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services. “Our collaboration combines IBM’s industry expertise and unmatched position in enterprise computing, with Apple’s legendary user experience and excellence in product design to lift the performance of a new generation of business professionals.”
“This is a big step for iPhone and iPad in the enterprise, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new ways organisations will put iOS devices to work,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The business world has gone mobile, and Apple and IBM are bringing together the world’s best technology with the smartest data and analytics to help businesses redefine how work gets done.”
Deeper mobility
In targeting key opportunities and priorities within industries, said IBM, the MobileFirst for iOS apps take enterprise mobility a level deeper, helping employees access their company’s full capabilities wherever they interact with clients — faster, easier and more securely than ever before.
Built exclusively for iPhone and iPad, MobileFirst for iOS apps are delivered in a secure environment, embedded with analytics and linked to core enterprise processes. The apps can be customised for any organisation and easily deployed, managed and upgraded via cloud services from IBM specifically for iOS devices, with security across the data, app and device. There are plans for additional apps across other industries and sectors being continuously designed and developed, said IBM.
In travel and transportation, Plan Flight addresses the major expense of all airlines, fuel, permitting pilots to view flight schedules, flight plans, and crew manifests ahead of time, report issues in-flight to ground crews, and make more informed decisions about discretionary fuel. The Passenger+ app allows flight crews to offer an highly personalised services to passengers in-flight, including special offers, re-booking, and baggage information.
In the banking and financial markets space, Advise & Grow puts bankers on premise with their small business clients, says IBM, with secure authorisation to access client profiles and competitive analyses, gather analytics-driven insights to make personalised recommendations, and complete secure transactions. The Trusted Advice app allows advisors to access and manage client portfolios, gain insight from powerful predictive analytics, whether in the client’s kitchen or at the local coffee shop, rather than the advisor’s office, with full ability to test recommendations with sophisticated modelling tools all the way to complete, secure transactions.
In insurance, Retention allows agents with access to customers’ profiles and history, including an analytics-driven retention risk score as well as smart alerts, reminders, and recommendations on next best steps and facilitation of key transactions like collection of e-signatures and premiums.
In government, Case Advice addresses the issue of workload and support among caseworkers who are making critical decisions, one family or situation at a time, on the go. The solution adjusts case priorities based on real-time analytics-driven insights, and assesses risk based on predictive analysis. Incident Aware converts an iPhone into a vital crime prevention asset, presenting law enforcement officers with real-time access to maps and video-feeds of incident locations; information about victim status, escalation risk, and crime history; and improved ability to call for back-up and supporting services.
In retail, Sales Assist enables associates to connect with customer profiles, make suggestions based on previous purchases and current selections, check inventory, locate items in-store, and ship out-of-store items. The Pick & Pack app combines proximity-based technology with back-end inventory systems for transformed order fulfilment.
Expert Tech, in telecommunications, taps into native iOS capabilities including FaceTime for easy access to expertise and location services for route optimisation to deliver superior on-site service, more effective issue resolution and productivity as well as improved customer satisfaction.
Profound impact
“Mobile innovations are driving profound impact on how Citi delivers superior client experiences, particularly those that extend our enterprise expertise all the way to the point of customer contact,” said Heather Cox, chief client experience, digital and marketing officer for Global Consumer Banking at Citi. “There’s terrific energy in our collaboration with IBM and Apple around the goal of equipping our professionals with mobile capability that will create new competitive advantage and enable us to re-imagine how we share our knowledge to improve the quality of life for our clients.”
The partnership also allows users additional levels of support in areas such as mobile platforms and enterprise integration, procurement and development lifecycles and with care and support programmes.
www.apple.com/business/mobile-enterprise-apps
www.ibm.com/mobilefirst/us/en/mobilefirst-for-ios
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