It’s one of those thoughts many mHealth insiders and observers have had at some point: What if one could put the power of Watson analytics into a smartphone and interact with it like Apple’s Siri at the point of care?
That specific dream has moved closer to reality with the announcement that Apple and IBM are joining forces to create a mobile platform christened IBM Mobile First for iOS.
“For the first time ever we’re putting IBM’s renowned big data analytics at iOS users’ fingertips,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a prepared statement. “This is a radical step for enterprise and something that only Apple and IBM can deliver.”
[See also: Novartis looks to bolster Google's smart contact lens capabilities.]
IBM CEO Ginni Rometty said the intention is to bring the same “innovations (that) have transformed our lives” into the ways that people work, thereby “allowing people to re-imagine work, industries and professions.”
To that end, the two executives hope that IBM Mobile First for iOS will “transform enterprise mobility through a new class of business apps.”
The companies outlined four core tenets of the arrangement:
- What they hope will amount to hundreds of vertical enterprise offerings developed from the ground up for healthcare and insurance, among other industries;
- New IBM cloud services specifically geared to run on Apple’s iOS, including device management, security, analytics and mobile integration;
- AppleCare service and support; and
- Packaged offerings from IBM for device activation, supply and management.
“The IBM MobileFirst Platform for iOS will deliver the services required for an end-to-end enterprise capability, from analytics, workflow and cloud storage to fleet-scale device management, security and integration,” the companies noted. “Enhanced mobile management includes a private app catalog, data and transaction security services and productivity suite for all IBM MobileFirst for iOS solutions.”
IBM alone boasts more than 5,000 mobile experts, according to its marketing literature, and some 4,300 patents in mobile, social and security within its Mobile First products. Big Blue also has its massive global services team, and as part of the Apple partnership IBM will sell iPhones and iPads with vertical apps and solutions directly to its existing client base.
It’s not all that often technology giants align and rattle off healthcare as one of their target verticals, much less that Apple joins forces with any of the IT old guard — which gives the partnership a booster shot of luster. And in an mHealth industry currently going like gangbusters with too many startups to count, the sheer scale that Apple and IBM bring at the very least has the potential for significant market-shaping.
Related articles:
Product roundup: 10 mobile apps for evidence-based medicine
Are vital signs really all that vital to consumers?
ACO tapping sensors, smartphone app to help patients control COPD
