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IBM and AT&T have announced an expanded relationship to provide software developers with a set of new tools to create and deploy next-generation mobile apps.
Under this new partnership, customers will benefit from access to secure, high-quality apps, including those featuring speech-recognition and mobile-payment capabilities, the companies said.
AT&T has been expanding its network capabilities and increasing access to research from AT&T Labs across a range of mobile development platforms, including IBM Worklight. Part of the IBM MobileFirst Application and Data Platform, Worklight is an open, mobile app platform for mobile devices. It provides an integrated platform that includes a development environment, mobile-optimized runtime middleware, an enterprise application store, and an integrated management and analytics console–all supported by a variety of security mechanisms.
“As the business opportunities associated with mobile technologies move beyond the device to the enterprise, we must continue to invest in tools and resources that enable developers to create apps that meet changing demands,” said Phil Buckellew, vice president of mobile strategy at IBM, in a statement. “Our partners at AT&T share this commitment to building out the mobile development ecosystem and driving more value from mobile technologies. With access to some of the most powerful development tools in the industry, developers will now be better able to help organizations accelerate and monetize their mobile strategies.”
The AT&T API Platform, featuring IBM Worklight Adapters, will enable the more than 31,000 members of the AT&T Developer Program to create and deploy enterprise apps that improve subscriber engagement and customer loyalty. With these adapters that support AT&T’s ecosystem of APIs, including those for speech, SMS, device capabilities, notary management and payment, developers can create business-ready apps across a variety of platforms, such as iOS, Android and Windows.
Some of the various opportunities enabled by the Worklight adapters include the ability to use voice-mail–to-text features to transcribe voice mails, and then post the voice notes to a centralized area for all users to see. The adapters also give organizations the flexibility to control the look and feel of how they present purchase options as well as how they deliver digital goods to the customer.
“AT&T is committed to the success of our rapidly growing developer community,” said Carlton Hill, vice president of developer services at AT&T, in a statement. “By expanding our platform’s reach and making our API toolkit available on an expanding number of platforms, including IBM Worklight, our developers have the information, tools and resources to continue to build great things and contribute to the mobile ecosystem in meaningful new ways.”
Big Blue officials said the agreement between IBM and AT&T is timely as communication service providers (CSPs) are faced with the challenge of providing a more personalized mobile experience for their customers and meeting rising demand for quick access to services and apps.
Overall, the AT&T APIs provide the mobile development community with easy-to-use on-ramps that accelerate app development. The IBM DeveloperWorks community will benefit from a single source of trusted mobile and telecommunications content via the AT&T Developer Program to streamline development processes. Additionally, members of the AT&T developer community using the prebuilt Worklight adapters can further reduce time to market, cost and complexity of development, as well as facilitate a better user experience across a variety of mobile devices, IBM said.