IBM launches three more iPad apps in Apple partnership
Continuing in its quest to launch 100 iPad apps by the end of 2015, IBM revealed three new iPad apps this week as part of its MobileFirst for iOS platform.
The partnership with Apple, initiated in the middle of last year, already saw the launch of 10 apps back in December across a number of verticals including airlines, banking, retail and insurance.
Now, IBM has launched new transportation, retail, and banking apps. Let's take a closer look.
Passenger Care
First up is Passenger Care, aimed at airline customer service agents. Rather than keep airline representatives stationary at gate counters, this app is meant to allow them to move around the airport, helping travelers rebook flights or change their seats from almost anywhere in the terminal -- or just to help people find the nearest restroom.
As someone who saw first-hand this week what cancelled flights can do to an huge and busy airport, anything to help improve airline customer service will be welcomed with open arms.
Dynamic Buy
Then there's Dynamic Buy. It's meant to help retail buyers -- the employees who decide what products a retail store should carry -- gain perspective on what's selling, thanks to real-time sales and revenue trends, information about inventory, and more. IBM is hoping to give easier access to the tremendous amounts of data that companies are already gathering on their supply chain.
Advisor Alerts
Finally, there's Advisor Alerts. This app gives financial advisors a heads-up look at their clients' financial positions. By automatically flagging and prioritizing tasks that need to be prioritized and completed, the goal is to help advisors help more clients faster and with better results. Included in the app is a dashboard that recommends actions, provides news, gives price alerts, and allows tasks to be delegated to different teams.
"We set out to transform how millions of workers consume, process, and use information when they are outside the four walls of the office," explained Fred Balboni, IBM General Manager for the IBM and Apple partnership, in a press release. "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."
With more than a dozen apps shown, with dozens left to go, IBM says it has more than 50 "foundational clients" signed on to implement the apps. Both IBM and Apple have expressed considerable optimism for the apps, and, if they can roll them out effectively, I think they could easily make hundreds of highly targeted business apps.
What IBM app would you like to see built for the iPad? Are there any tasks at your company that could be streamlined with some custom software? Let us know in the comments below.
