By Shira Ovide And Daisuke Wakabayashi
Apple Inc., grappling with swooning sales of the
once-blockbuster iPad and sensing an opening in the changing ways
of work, is making its broadest assault to date on business
computing.
The technology giant is working with more than 40 technology
companies--many of them little-known makers of apps for accounting
or sales presentations--to make the iPad a more appealing work
tool.
The initiative is a bet that Apple, which has never been a big
player in the $2 trillion annual spending on workplace technology,
can grab a bigger slice of the market by reshaping the nature of
work in mobile-friendly settings--where Apple has an edge.
Along the way, Apple is doing unnatural acts for a company that
traditionally has charted its own path in the consumer market,
without much help from others. Apple is inviting officials from
accounting firm Xero Ltd. and other partners in the business-app
program to train Apple business specialists. Apple invited some of
its allies to present at an Apple sales conference in March in
Huntington Beach, Calif., an event that is typically closed to
outsiders, said people familiar with the program.
Apple reviews its partners' apps and offers detailed
suggestions, down to which words should be shaded in gray,
according to meeting participants. Thanks to the partnership, an
Apple ally got the company on the phone with an iPad business
customer that had never heard from an Apple representative. And
Apple has played match maker by encouraging makers of complementary
programs such as employee scheduling software and digital cash
register systems to create interconnected apps.
Apple first disclosed the business-app alliance in an April call
with investors, but it has given few details. Elements of Apple's
strategy were described by more than a dozen people familiar with
the project.
Some program details are unclear even to participants,
reflecting Apple's penchant for secrecy. Officials at some partners
say they're not sure of their role in selling apps and don't know
the identities of all the other partners.
The initiative has been referred to as the "mobility partner
program," or MPP, but Apple has discouraged partners from using
that name publicly, said some people familiar with the program.
These companies "are developing iOS solutions across industries
that will empower employees and usher in a new era of
productivity," an Apple spokesman said.
The efforts are paying off with small business customers like
Kelly Barker. In June, she popped into an Apple store in Dallas
with a question about using a Mac laptop for her skin-care company.
An Apple employee invited Mrs. Barker to a workshop where three
software companies pitched a dozen small retailers on running their
operations with Apple devices.
There, Apple representatives helped talk Mrs. Barker through
replacing her clunky accounting system with apps that work on iPads
and iPhones.
Mrs. Barker's PREP Cosmetics LLC switched to accounting software
from Xero, which participated in the workshop. She plans to buy
digital-cash-register technology from Vend Ltd., another partner
from the workshop.
Mrs. Barker was surprised by how the world's most valuable
company catered to a four-person business. "They really were
genuinely interested in my business and in helping me grow," she
said.
The corporate-computing path isn't without risks. Rivals
including Microsoft Corp., Google Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
also are building business-friendly features and courting app
developers. Apple doesn't have the same culture or extensive sales
networks of workplace-technology incumbents.
Apple needs business buyers to reverse a sharp slide in iPad
sales, which have fallen for six straight quarters. Revenue from
iPads declined 24% in the nine months ended June 27, compared with
the same period a year earlier.
Business sales have been a bright spot in the sagging tablet
market. Forrester Research estimates 20% of tablets used globally
in 2018 will be owned by businesses, up from 12% in 2014. Apple
also has been going after business customers with a year-old
partnership with International Business Machines Corp. to jointly
create custom iPad apps.
Long-term, Apple hopes to sell bundles of applications tailored
to industries or business functions, such as retailers or
accounting services, said people familiar with the project. Apple
also has discussed tapping mobile-phone carriers, including
AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., to help sell apps
and Apple devices to businesses, said some of the people familiar
with Apple's initiative.
The idea is "to come in and offer a curated set of solutions
that have been blessed and work together," said James Maiocco,
Xero's general manager of corporate and business development.
"Don't tell me to just go to the App Store."
It's not immediately clear how the participating companies and
Apple would sell the business-app bundles, or whether they would
share revenue from software sales.
Participants in the program--some of which Apple hasn't
disclosed--include field-service software firm ServiceMax Inc.,
digital-cash-register company Revel Systems; mobile-security
companies MobileIron Inc. and VMware Inc.'s AirWatch; and
ScrollMotion Inc. and Showpad NV, which each makes apps for
mobile-friendly sales presentations.
Michael Kapil, owner of Toronto restaurant Bindia bought three
iPads after Apple partner Moneris Solutions Corp. invited him to a
May seminar for restaurateurs. Bindia servers now use Moneris and
digital-cash-register service TouchBistro on the tablets, allowing
cooks and bartenders to prep dishes and drinks more quickly.
"I was really impressed with the whole experience," said Mr.
Kapil.
Mrs. Barker, the PREP Cosmetics co-founder, said her business
already is benefiting from Apple's initiatives. The new accounting
software automates many tasks, so she no longer brings in a
bookkeeper every Thursday evening to input paper receipts.
"Instead of worrying about the technology piece, or the
accounting, we can focus on the strategy," Mrs. Barker said.
Write to Shira Ovide at shira.ovide@wsj.com and Daisuke
Wakabayashi at Daisuke.Wakabayashi@wsj.com
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