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 Experts say the company hopes to offset a gradual deceleration in
growth - highlighted by iPad sales that have declined three straight
quarters - by expanding its footprint in the workplace.
Three months after unveiling a partnership with IBM <IBM.N> to
develop apps for corporate clients and sell them on devices, the
iPhone maker’s plans to challenge sector leaders Hewlett-Packard <HPQ.N>,
Dell Inc[DI.UL] , Oracle <ORCL.N> and SAP <SAPG.DE> are starting to
take shape.
Details remain scant, but some industry experts say that the tie-up
with Big Blue gives Apple an opportunity to begin to challenge
Hewlett Packard's and Dell's dominance of office IT, and Oracle and
SAP's command of work applications. Depending on its progress, it
may hamper Microsoft, Samsung's or Google's own efforts in the
nascent market for mobile work applications.
Apps developers and other sources familiar with Apple’s plans who
could not speak publicly provided additional details on how the
iPhone maker is working behind the scenes.
The iPhone maker has worked closely with a group of startups,
including ServiceMax and PlanGrid, that already specialize in
selling apps to corporate America. The two people familiar with the
plans, but who could not speak publicly about them, say Apple is
already in talks with other mobile enterprise developers to bring
them into a more formal partnership.
PlanGrid is a mobile app for construction workers to share and view
blueprints. ServiceMax is a mobile app that makes it easy for
companies to manage fleets of field service technicians by ensuring
they have access to the right information.
Apple has been sending dedicated sales teams to talk to chief
information officers. At least one financial services corporation,
Citigroup, has been in talks to sign on, one of the two sources
familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Another person familiar with the developer's plans told Reuters that
ServiceMax, whose existing customers include Procter & Gamble <PG.N>
and DuPont, has co-hosted eight dinners with Apple over the past
year in locations across the United States. About 25 or 30 chief
information officers and "chief service officers" typically show up
at these joint marketing and sales events.
ServiceMax declined comment on what they were specifically working
on with Apple. PlanGrid also declined comment.
But ServiceMax chief marketing officer, Stacey Epstein, said about
95 percent of its customers use Apple devices. Each new customer
will typically order thousands of iPhones and iPads, she added.
"The field service market alone is a $15 billion market," said
Epstein. "One of our accounts may have thousands of field service
technicians. It's a huge market opportunity for Apple."
Apple declined to comment for this story.
'MESSY, STUPID' DEMANDS
Apple has mostly kept its plans under wraps since July, when it
announced the deal with IBM. Their partnership has alternately been
hailed as a dream alliance, or dismissed as an uncertain tie-up
between two companies with very different philosophies.
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Many American corporations already deploy tablets among their
workforces, for purposes ranging from pharmaceutical sales to mobile
accounting.
“From Apple’s point of view the enterprise is really messy,
oftentimes unreasonable or even stupid in its demands," said John
Rymer, an analyst at Forrester. "They’ve never had a business model
to deal with any of that. But they do want the penetration and they
do want what market share they can get.”
Its rivals harbor similar ambitions. A separate source familiar with
the matter said Samsung is stepping up its efforts to sell devices
to large enterprise clients. The company hired former chief
information officer Robin Bienfait to spearhead that effort, and is
on the hunt for acquisition opportunities, the person said. The
source requested anonymity as they were involved in private
conversations.
Apple also needed help to penetrate corporations. It is relying on
IBM's predictive software, enterprise-grade security and data
analytics to set its upcoming suite of apps apart from rival
offerings from Oracle and Microsoft, the two original sources said.
Personnel from IBM Global Technology Services, its outsourced IT
division, will handle technical support for clients under the
initiative, and the two companies also plan on setting up a
dedicated 24-7 hotline, according to a recently updated Apple
support website.
The iPhone maker may be trying to replicate the model that served
the iPhone well: hook the client on the software and content, then
keep them coming back for the hardware, which is what drives the
lions' share of Apple's bottom line.
“It does make sense, but the devil's in the details," said Rymer at
Forrester. "The apps have to work and be economic. Can they produce
solutions that are meaningful to enough people and reduce the cost
over the customers doing it themselves? We'll see."
(Editing by Edwin Chan, Bernard Orr)
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