Apple-IBM Partnership Delivers Mobile Apps for Industry Verticals

By Don Reisinger

Advise & Grow allows small business bankers go mobile with client information, including financial and credit data, as well as customer profiles and competitive analysis, to see where they stand in the marketplace.

Another finance application, Trusted Advice is designed for wealth advisors who want to quickly pull up client data to see their portfolios and possible strategies for what to do next. The app also includes graphics and charts to provide clients with quick insight into their standing. One other important feature: The app provides a “scenarios” function that lets wealth advisors plot out the future for clients.

If airlines are ever going to equip flight attendants with iPads, giving them Passenger+ might be a good idea. The app provides flight attendants with just about everything they need to know, including flight information, whether certain passengers are VIPs, and if others have some “special requests.” The app even provides flight attendants with a list of people who will miss connecting flights.

While flight attendants are using Passenger+, pilots in the cockpit might also have a use for the iPad. Plan Flight allows pilots to get a sense of air traffic, weather and other key measures that will determine how much fuel will be used. Since fuel costs are a major concern in the airline business, the app aims to control costs. It could be a nice option for airlines.

If retail stores want to use iBeacon technology, Apple’s indoor positioning system for brick-and-mortar stores, Pick & Pack could be the right solution. Companies can plug the location of their store inventory into the app, and sales representatives can quickly identify where a particular item is within the store. The app also includes key product information, including pictures, to help salespeople find items quickly.

Sales Assist is another app designed for retailers that want to add a bit more flavor to the shopping experience. The app offers a database of shoppers who have opted into the service that identifies their previous purchases. Most importantly, the app provides recommendations on complementary items based on past or current purchases. In other words, Sales Assist acts as a fashion designer and sales associate in one fell swoop.

Insurance agents are always worried about client retention, so it’s perhaps no surprise that Apple and IBM have cooked up a program called Retention. The app lets users keep track of clients and determine whether premiums have been paid. It also tracks client leads and recommends actions based on a specific issue that arises with each client. It’s a neat and full-featured app.

Field service technicians who work for telcos might soon have an iPad in hand that quickly provides them with the information they need to handle service calls. The app, called Expert Tech, suggests the inventory techs will need to handle the day’s service calls and even includes video tutorials to provide them with help on handling problems when they reach customer homes. Nice.

IBM and Apple are both gunning for government customers with the new Incident Aware app. The program is designed for police officers to know where their fellow force members are at any given time and provides mapping services so they can chart out a particular crime scene’s perimeter. The app even allows for access to police records and can calculate the risk of a particular operation.

Social workers could find some value in the Case Advice app Apple and IBM have unveiled. The app provides assessments on their clients, including their relationships, school climate and safety, and includes industry guidelines for reference in different circumstances. The focus of Case Advice, according to Apple, is to free social workers from what is still a heavy “paper-based process.”