Apple and IBM today unveiled 10 new enterprise apps across several industries including tools for government inspectors, business travelers and managers, and field service professionals for the first time. The latest apps bring the number of iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch apps built for the enterprise under Apple’s IBM MobileFirst for iOS partnership to 32 in total. Here are the new apps joining the list today:
Shift Track for Managers (iPad): Shift Track for iOS gives managers a smarter approach to staffing and scheduling. By replacing inefficient paper schedules with powerful analytics and intuitive dashboards, Shift Track makes it easy for managers to stay on top of staff schedules, time-off requests, shift exceptions, and employee hours.
Shift Sync for Employees (iPhone, Apple Watch): Shift Sync for iPhone and Apple Watch gives employees more control of their schedules than ever before. Staff members can use Shift Sync’s easy, intuitive dashboard to view and interact with their schedules, accept or decline schedule changes, submit vacation requests — and even keep track of sick leave and paid time off.
Travel Plan for Business Travelers (iPhone): The Travel Plan app was built to make trip planning a simple, intuitive, and integrated experience for business travelers. Powerful analytics scan Calendar events as potential trip suggestions, recognize frequent destinations, and automatically factor in trip parameters to provide personalized travel recommendations.
Travel Track for Business Travelers (iPhone, Apple Watch): Travel Track for iPhone and Apple Watch reimagines business travel by integrating everything from flight itineraries to local service recommendations in a single app. Powerful analytics detect and connect everyone traveling in your group based on calendar entries and reservations.
Loan Advise for Mortgage Officers (iPad): Loan Advise for iOS helps mortgage officers provide personalized recommendations to clients more efficiently than ever. Now mortgage officers can collect information about their clients in real time, offer accurate product recommendations, and make it easier for borrowers to select and apply for mortgages.
Loan Track for Mortage Officers (iPhone): Loan Track makes it easy for mortgage officers to keep up with everything in their pipeline. They can view a summary of loans in process and tasks needed to get the loan application complete. And borrowers are always informed with instant updates on their application status via email, instant message, or text.
Expert Resolve for Field Service Professionals (iPad): One call does it all with the Expert Resolve app for iOS. Expert Resolve shows field service professionals relevant historical data and typical device issues so they can quickly diagnose problems. The app suggests solutions based on similar scenarios, and uses predictive analytics to point out potential issues — eliminating the need for another service call.
Asset Inspect for Field Technicians (iPhone): The Asset Inspect app for iOS makes asset inspections and maintenance fast, safe, and efficient. Asset Inspect uses predictive analytics to provide field technicians with “most likely cause” scenarios so they know what to look for. Then the app puts manuals, specifications, and work history at their fingertips so they know what to do next.
Field Inspect for Government Inspectors (iPad): The Field Inspect app for iOS provides government inspectors with data at their fingertips, no matter where an inspection takes them. It’s easy to route findings directly to the appropriate government agency — saving mountains of paperwork and hours of data entry.
Safe Site for Forepersons (iPhone): Safety is everyone’s priority with the Safe Site app for iOS. Features like the built-in camera and microphone on iPhone let forepersons document, pinpoint, and broadcast unsafe conditions instantly. Site managers can use Safe Site to respond promptly to risks, report near misses and incidents, and share alerts with nearby employees. The app also leverages iBeacon technology to alert forepersons when they’re within proximity of an identified hazard.
The 10 new MobileFirst for iOS apps from Apple and IBM join the 22 apps for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch previously announced under the partnership between the two companies. Several of the new apps leverage iOS device technology including Touch ID, FaceTime, push notifications, location services, and even iBeacons.
Apple and IBM first teamed up just over a year ago to help Apple push iOS devices running custom apps into the enterprise using IBM’s experience in various industries. In addition to AppleCare for Enterprise and other services focused on that set of customers, the partnership delivered the first set of apps last December. Apple last refreshed the app lineup last March while adding new industries to the roster. Apple and IBM have even localized versions of its enterprise apps for customers in Japan.
Apple has added used these enterprise apps to highlight new users for the Apple Watch as several IBM MobileFirst apps support the new device. We’ve also seen IBM begin offering employees the option to choose a work-issued Mac for the first time as the partnership with Apple continues. You can check out the full lineup of MobileFirst for iOS apps on Apple’s website profiling the partnership with IBM.
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This seems awesome to me.
The Big Blue of the ’70 was always of ‘the next big thing’: The new 4331 will solve everything!
Then came the PC and Microsoft took the reign of the ‘next version will solve everything’ (I’m still waiting…)
After the great conversion of IBM to a service company I lost track.
But then came the Apple-IBM agreement: Mobile First.
And Steve’s spirit is on it: “Real artist ship!”
No promises… Shipments!
Now, we can share (once again, with Steve) the famous: “Welcome, IBM. Seriously.”
On the other hand, I only can praise the conversion of the once most monolithic company: IBM.
You assume these apps will make real money.
For me, Apple has the Steve’s ‘…delivers’ (you can argue if they are or aren’t artist).
Almost all other companies ‘…promise…’
(Check every CES show and which products really were delived: Surface Table? And which ones made money: HP’s tablet.)
My point was: IBM has become a ‘we deliver’ company from a point of ‘we promise’ company.
And I applaud that.
I also hope they make money with the apps… (Apple will make money selling the iPads!)
IBM is a dying company, just consider their latest earnings report. I have no doubt the IPad will make money for Apple, and even if these new IBM Apps succeed in being profitable, I find it hard to image they turning in anything like the revenue of an old mainframe app, I’d like to be proven wrong, but I doubt Ginny can figure out how to escape the downward spiral. Too bad.
I would like to recommend a mobile first app for you guys to review. check out Big Time by WINR Games https://www.winrgames.com
Shift Sync & Travel Track stand out for me; they look very good/promising.