Despite decades of animosity between IBM and Apple, this week CEOs Tim Cook and Ginni Rometty agreed on a partnership between the two tech powerhouses. This partnership is designed to play to the strengths of both companies and allow business running enterprise software to offer the full fleet of Apple products to their employees. IBM will also work to create cloud services that are optimized specifically for iOS, while Apple will provide any hardware support needed by big businesses through a special form of AppleCare–including 24/7 assistance.
In days past, people have talked about IBM and Apple coming together but until recently it didn’t seem possible. The companies had too much in common and the competition between them for the PC market was fierce. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, even famously flicked off the IBM logo back in the day, sending a crystal clear metaphorical message to his at-the-moment enemies. Seems all the dust has settled though and Apple and IBM are ready to make peace for the good of their bottom lines. As their perfectly-composed press release states, “Apple and IBM’s shared vision for this partnership is to put in the hands of business professionals everywhere the unique capabilities of iPads and iPhones…Specifically, the two companies are working together to deliver the essential elements of enterprise mobile solutions.”
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