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Apple (AAPL) made its boldest move to date in its efforts to bring iOS into the world of enterprise after it announced a strategic partnership with IBM (IBM) .
Apple, the king of the consumer, and IBM, the gold standard of enterprise, are teaming up to unlock new value in business computing. Apple CEO Tim Cook and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty raved about the compatibility of the two companies, expressing that the partnership could revolutionize enterprise.
“It is absolutely huge. It’s landmark,” Cook told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday. “It takes the best of Apple and the best of IBM, it puts those together. There’s no overlap. There’s no competition. They’re totally complimentary.”
Under the terms of the deal, Apple and IBM will team up to develop over 100 industry-specific iOS apps for enterprise. The apps will aim to improve security, data analytics, and other industry-specific needs through iOS. Apple’s AppleCare for Enterprise will provide 24/7 phone assistance to customers, while IBM will deliver on-site service. The new enterprise apps are expected to roll out this fall into 2015.
“This is all about unlocking mobility in the enterprise and value that hasn’t been there today,” said Cook. Apple has sold 500 million iPhones and 200 million iPads, but hasn’t quite been able to penetrate the enterprise market as investors have hoped.
In their interview, Cook and Rommettey emphasized the importance and high demand for enterprise security, particularly in the wake of countless cyber attacks on corporations over the past couple years. All signs point to Apple’s iOS fingerprint scanners playing a role in cloud security, especially within data accessibility and cloud services.
From IBM’s perspective, Big Blue hopes the partnership will spur growth and reignite the stock. IBM was the darling of the Dow from 2009 to 2012, but shares have gone nowhere over the past two years.
Investors applauded the deal, sending both stocks higher in after-hours trading on Tuesday. Apple shares approached yearly highs, gaining 1.58% to $96.83, while IBM rose 2% to $192.20.
BlackBerry (BBRY) traded 4% lower on the news, as mobile enterprise was one of the company’s last lifelines.