Apple Inc. is turning to consulting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP to boost sales of its mobile devices inside businesses.

The two companies said Wednesday they had formed a service called Enterprise Next, through which 5,000 Deloitte consultants will advise clients in a range of industries on using Apple devices.

"Enterprises need trusted advisers," said Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, in an interview Wednesday.

The deal follows others Apple has struck in the past two years with International Business Machines Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and SAP SE, part of an effort to give Apple devices a more central role in American corporate life.

Deloitte workers already use more than 100,000 Apple phones and tablets and the company has built 75 customized apps for these devices, the company said.

After years of breakneck growth, sales of Apple devices have stumbled recently, but Apple views business customers as a fast growing market. Last year, Mr. Cook said that corporate purchases accounted for $25 billion of Apple's revenue and were growing at 40%. He reiterated those numbers on Wednesday.

The latest version of Apple's iOS mobile-operating system, released earlier this month, incorporate several new elements designed specifically for business customers, Mr. Cook said. Apple has, for example, worked with Cisco to speed up apps on corporate networks and improved integration with Microsoft Corp.'s Exchange email servers, the company said.

Corporate users are increasingly using mobile devices as replacements for personal computers because they allow workers to access information and make decisions more quickly, Mr. Cook said. "The desktop era is fading fast," he said.

IPhones are widespread in corporate offices, but much of Apple's push into business revolves around its iPad tablet. IPad unit sales have fallen for 10 consecutive quarters, though revenue rose in the most recent quarter because of increased sales of the pricier iPad Pro model.

Business sales are important for Apple's growth. "The consumer smartphone market is becoming increasingly saturated," said Jan Dawson, chief analyst with Jackdaw Research. "That means that it's more important to find growth in other places."

Write to Robert McMillan at Robert.Mcmillan@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 28, 2016 14:45 ET (18:45 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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