We all thought we would never see the day. Ever since that 1984 Superbowl commercial, the die-hard Apple fans practically waged war against Big Blue, the symbol of everything that Apple was fighting against.
30 years is a long time.
Even if Steve Jobs was still at the helm, this wouldn’t have been a surprise. Remember back in 1997 when Bill Gates graced the MacWorld Expo via satellite?
Looking around at the 2014 versions of Apple and IBM, the partnership is perfect. There is almost no overlap in products and services. Apple is in business to make money, and IBM’s consulting and sales strength in the enterprise can now include iPad and iPhone specific technology solutions.
Even more interesting is that it’s a partnership that other tech juggernauts cannot easily counter. Google and Oracle? Nope. Facebook and HP? Negative. Microsoft and Nokia, oops!
The general public probably won’t hear that much about this deal after the current news cycle. Enterprise business isn’t “sexy” but it is profitable. IBM is going to use its expertise to make some pretty amazing custom applications on iOS for the mobile workforce for its customers. And Apple stays focused on doing what it does best, which is make great products.
So as strange as it is for this long-time Apple fanboy to admit, Apple and IBM are perfect together.