Tuesday’s late breaking news announcement by Apple and IBM that they will work together to bring IBM’s big data/data analytics apps to iPhone and iPad users in the enterprise has industry watchers reaching back into their memory banks to explain the historical significance of this pairing.
Apple exec Phil Schiller spouted the party line:
Apple + IBM = Redefining the mobile enterprise https://t.co/ainqkNA6SA https://t.co/8jBk1PGM17
— Philip Schiller (@pschiller) July 15, 2014
Among supporters: Cloud company Box’s CEO Aaron Levie:
Huge win for Apple in the enterprise and IBM for software and services. We’re definitely looking at a new and stronger Apple.
— Aaron Levie (@levie) July 15, 2014
Others had a slightly different reading of the announcement:
IBM, Apple enter into buzzword and jargon joint venture
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 15, 2014
Others cited the longtime rivalry between Apple and IBM, including the early Steve Jobs days and the famous 1984 Super Bowl ad.
And others pointed to the companies’ past joint ventures, such as the PowerPC project, which fell short of being a blockbuster.
@daringfireball but we all know how the previous IBM / Apple alliance ended. In tears. Sure the card are dealt differently right now.
— Hubert Figuière (@hfiguiere) July 15, 2014
Some pointed to BlackBerry being even more hosed, as IBM-Apple join forces on enterprise mobility, while others see the newly announced deal throwing water on Microsoft and CEO Satya Nadella’s brand new productivity plan.
Apple’s deal with IBM – I guess Nadella is not the only one who wants to reinvent productivity
— carolina milanesi (@caro_milanesi) July 15, 2014
And still others are intrigued by the possibilities beyond Apple reselling IBM software to business customers.
Could the next stage be that #IBM start managing/providing #iCloud for #Apple? https://t.co/GlX5bRqpSj #TheCloud #WYOD #BYOD
— Ian M Calvert (@IanMCalvert) July 15, 2014
