Apple partners with Cisco to push iOS in the enterprise
A new partnership between Apple and Cisco could mean a lot more iPads and iPhones for business users.
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The two companies announced a partnership Monday aimed at making iOS devices and apps more compatible with Cisco's corporate networks.
They also plan to make mobile, cloud, and premises-based collaboration tools such as Cisco Spark, Telepresence and WebEx work more seamlessly on iOS devices, resulting in what a company spokesperson described as "unique collaboration experiences for iPhone and iPad."
Further specifics of the partnership are still unclear, but it appears to include both engineering and go-to-market efforts.
"Together with Cisco, we believe we can give businesses the tools to maximize the potential of iOS and help employees become even more productive using the devices they already love," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
The partnership is significant for both companies, but especially for Apple. The Cupertino tech giant has been stepping up its efforts to court business users, starting with its alliance with IBM last year to build enterprise apps for iOS.
More recently Apple is rumored to be working with more than 40 technology companies to help make the iPad a better business tool. The still unconfirmed Mobility Partner Program (MPP) is largely a sales effort, but has Apple offering up mobility advice to business software makers such as Xero and FreshBooks.