Apple, IBM Extend App Partnership

 

Apple and IBM announced Monday at the Mobile World Conference a series of enterprise apps aimed at supporting banking and financial services, airline and retail industries. The apps support data, buying, processes and search functions.

Buying out of sequence of the regular buying cycle for retail buyers creates havoc with a company's procedures and processes. Sometimes, buys out of sequence are required to get the best deals on high-margin, high-revenue spot buys. The buyer might come across a good deal on a popular item. The app lets them buy the product out of sequence.

The Dynamic Buy app is one in several that Apple and IBM released after announcing a partnership last year to build apps.

The other two apps include a real-time data dashboard for financial advisors and an app for airlines that allows gate staff to immediately change the itineraries for travelers who miss connections.

"We set out to transform how millions of workers consume, process and use information when they are outside the four walls of the office," stated Fred Balboni, IBM general manager, of the IBM and Apple partnership. "Our goal is to boost the performance of every enterprise by making all its data and processes available to any employee with an iOS device -- anytime, anywhere." 

The apps are intended to simplify the life of employees, but they also collect data to help brands rethink processes and procedures.

The Passenger Care customer service tool is designed to improve the customer experience by allowing airline employees to deal with delays, process people who volunteer to get bumped, or need to change seats.

Advisor Alert is designed to help financial services help clients based on specific requirements. The app offers advice on the best actions to take on behalf of a given client, for example. The app tells the advisor what is most important via a personalized dashboard that displays recommended next steps, portfolio-impacting alerts, and provides a communications platform to quickly delegate tasks to teams back in the office.

Customized for any company in the specific market, the apps are built for iPhones and iPads, embedded with analytics and linked to core enterprise processes.

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