IBM said at Macworld that IBM's Lotus Connections social networking suite, Lotus Sametime instant messaging and Lotus Quickr team collaboration suite will be available for the iPhone, iPod Touch and computers running Apple's Mac operating system. IBM also made a vague commitment to build Lotus apps for the iPad. That IBM, which enjoys most of its success selling software for Microsoft Windows computers and even Linux machines, would increasingly support Apple platforms should no longer be a surprise. Businesses are acknowledging that employees are more comfortable using Macs instead of PCs because that is the machine they grew up using at home or in school.
IBM pledged to let its social networking software, instant
messaging and other Lotus applications run on Apple's iPhone and forthcoming
iPad tablet computer, an IBM executive said at
Macworld
in San Francisco Feb. 11.
IBM Lotus General Manager Alistair Rennie
said that IBM's Lotus Connections social networking suite, Lotus Sametime instant
messaging and Lotus Quickr team collaboration suite will be available for the
iPhone, iPod Touch and computers running Apple's Mac operating system.
Lotus Symphony 3.0, which
launched Feb. 4 as IBM's latest version of free word processing, spreadsheet,
and presentation apps, will also work with the Mac platfom.
IBM also made a vague commitment to build Lotus apps for
the
iPad, noting in a statement:
"IBM's expanded support for the iPhone
will also make its social and collaboration software available on the newly
debuted iPad. This expansion on Apple devices supports IBM's strategy to extend
its software footprint across all types of business and consumer devices,
increasing its usefulness and appeal to companies."
It is likely all of the Lotus apps will likely be ported
for the iPad, which is
expected to run an OS variant of the iPhone when it hits
shelves next month. All of these olive branches to Apple platforms come more than a year after IBM
released Lotus Notes 8.5 for Mac OS X.
That IBM, which enjoys most of its success selling software
for Microsoft Windows computers and even Linux machines, would increasingly
support Apple platforms should no longer be a surprise.
As IBM noted: "With the continuing convergence
of the business and personal worlds, people today are more likely to use
personal devices to stay connected with business and vice versa."
However, it is typically the businesses who have the
final say what machines their employees use, particularly where proprietary
corporate data is a consideration.
While enterprises eschewed Apple computers for years in
favor of lower cost Windows machines, giants such as Google and other companies
have been offering their employees their choice of computers when they work. Businesses
are acknowledging that employees are more comfortable using Macs instead of PCs
because that is the machine they grew up using at home or in school.
Indeed, David Meyer vice president of emerging
technologies for SAP,
told eWEEK recently that SAP let him use a Mac computer, though he admitted he
had to fight to use it.
Sometimes, this extends to the mobile sphere, with some
companies letting employees put aside their corporate-issued RIM Blackberry
device for the pleasurable experience of using the iPhone.
IBM has been aggressive in beefing up its
iPhone support. At Lotusphere 2010 Jan. 18, the company
released Lotus Notes Traveler Companion, its first application for the Apple
iPhone App Store. Companion is a free plug-in that lets iPhone users read their
encrypted Lotus Notes e-mail.
That security bump came more than a year after IBM
offered
iNotes ultralite, a free Web application that lets corporate workers access
their Lotus Notes e-mail, calendar and contacts lists through the Safari
browser on Apple's iPhone.
So IBM, which also
pledged to support
smartphones based on Google's Android OS, clearly understands the value
of giving enterprise customers entree to consumer devices.
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