Apple and SAP partner to transform businesses on iPhone and iPad
Apple and SAP have partnered to combine native applications for iPhone and iPad with capabilities of SAP HANA platform to enhance the mobile work experience for enterprise customers. The partnership shall be delivering a new iOS software development kit and training academy so that developers, partners and customers can easily build native iOS apps customized to their business needs.
The SAP HANA Cloud Platform SDK which has been exclusively made for iOS, will provide businesses, designers and developers the tools to quickly and efficiently build their own iOS apps for iPhone and iPad, based on SAP HANA Cloud Platform, SAP’s open platform as a service. These native apps will provide access to core data and business processes on SAP S/4HANA, while taking full advantage of iPhone and iPad features like Touch ID, Location Services and Notifications.
Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer, Apple, says:
“This partnership will transform how iPhone and iPad are used in enterprise by bringing together the innovation and security of iOS with SAP’s deep expertise in business software. As the leader in enterprise software and with 76 per cent of business transactions touching an SAP system, SAP is the ideal partner to help us truly transform how businesses around the world are run on iPhone and iPad.”
Cook claims that through the new SDK, Apple is empowering more than 2.5 million developers to build powerful native apps that fully leverage SAP HANA Cloud Platform and tap into the capabilities that iOS devices can deliver.
According to the enterprise application software company, a new SAP Fiori for iOS design language will take the SAP Fiori user experience to the next level by combining it with a consumer-grade iOS experience to deliver on the robust user needs in the enterprise and enable developers to build next-generation apps. To help SAP’s 2.5-million member global developer community take full advantage of the new SDK and Apple’s innovative hardware and software, a new SAP Academy for iOS will offer tools and training. This new software development kit, design language and academy will begin rolling out before the year ends.
Bill McDermott, Chief Executive Officer, SAP, says, “We’re proud to take this special partnership between Apple and SAP to a groundbreaking new place. In giving people an agile and intuitive business experience, we empower them to know more, care more and do more. By combining the powerful capabilities of SAP HANA Cloud Platform and SAP S/4HANA, together with iOS, the leading and most secure mobile platform for enterprise, we will help deliver live data to people wherever and whenever they choose to work. Apple and SAP share a commitment to shaping the future, helping the world run better and improving people’s lives.”
As a part of the partnership, SAP will develop native iOS apps for critical business operations. These apps for iPhone and iPad will be built with Swift which is Apple’s modern, secure and interactive programming language, and offer a familiar user experience with the SAP Fiori for iOS design language. Workers across industries will be empowered to access the critical enterprise data, processes and user experience they need to make decisions and take action right from their iPhone or iPad through apps designed to enable a field maintenance worker to order parts or schedule service, or a doctor to share the latest patient data with other healthcare professionals.