Apple-Accenture Partnership to Build iOS Business Apps for Enterprises

As part of a broader initiative to boost its presence in the enterprise, Apple has signed a deal with global consulting firm Accenture to help companies expand their iOS applications. Under the agreement, Accenture will add a “dedicated iOS practice” inside the company’s Digital Studios, while Apple will co-locate employees with Accenture staff to facilitate application development. Ultimately, the companies believe they can deliver applications that help the corporate world enhance employee productivity and improve customer experiences while reducing costs. But whether enterprises will jump at the chance to deploy iOS business applications remains to be seen. Read on for more about the Apple-Accenture partnership and how it could impact companies around the globe:

Apple and Accenture have formed a partnership to collaborate on developing iOS applications for corporate users. Apple will lend development expertise to Accenture,which will deploy the finished applications to its clients.

The Apple and Accenture partnership focuses solely on iOS and not the macOS. While Apple didn’t elaborate, the company has said in the past that iOS will be central in its branding to corporate users. The Accenture partnership seems to support that.

Accenture Digital Studios, an important part of this partnership, is where Accenture creates apps and related software for enterprises to stay ahead of the curve. It has created tools that address a range of technologies, from point-of-sale systems to internet of things concepts.

Apple plans to co-locate some employees within Accenture Digital Studios. According to Apple, its designers, programmers and data scientists will help Accenture design apps and ensure they deliver an appealing user experience when they’re deployed to companies.

Apple said the tools created under the Accenture partnership should profoundly impact the corporate world. The software, it said, will focus on helping companies identify and launch new revenue streams, increase employee productivity and improve customer service opportunities, ultimately reducing corporate costs.

Apple and Accenture also want to build “new ecosystem services” through their partnership. The services will make it easier to integrate iOS business applications with corporate back-end systems and will use Accenture and Apple’s tools to ensure seamless integration across the enterprise.

The companies also hope to build an internet of things practice, designing new tools and templates to make it easier for customers to integrate IoT applications into their businesses. Apple envisions Accenture-built apps will allow iOS users to access data from IoT platforms.

Apple and Accenture will offer migration services to clients as part of this initiative. The two companies plan to analyze clients’ existing applications and data archives to determine the best way to integrate them with the new iOS apps.

SAP and Cisco Systems also could benefit from this partnership. Both Apple and Accenture separately have partnerships with the companies, and the agreement will help them find ways to create applications that integrate with the SAP and Cisco products customers already have. However, Apple and Accenture didn’t provide details on how they will do that.

Apple’s partnership with Accenture is nothing new. Apple has been forming strategic relationships with a host of enterprise-system companies, including IBM, Cisco and many others. Those partnerships also focused on iOS, with the aim of getting more iPhones and iPads into the corporate world.