Apple & SAP | A Revolutionary Collaboration?
Apple and SAP have teamed up to combine iOS apps with the functionalities of the SAP HANA platform. Plus, developers will get support with training and tools to create their own native iOS apps.
"We're super proud to take this special partnership between Apple and SAP to a groundbreaking new level," says Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP. "By enabling people with an agile and intuitive business experience, we empower them to know more, care more, and do more. Combining the powerful capabilities of SAP HANA Cloud Platform and SAP S/4HANA with iOS, the leading and most secure mobile platform for enterprises, we'll help deliver real-time data to people wherever and whenever they choose to work. Apple and SAP share a commitment to shaping the future, improving the world and people's lives."
Apple and SAP are planning a Software Development Kit (SDK) for businesses, designers, and developers. This will make it easier to build custom iOS apps based on the SAP HANA Cloud Platform. These apps will be able to access business processes in SAP S/4HANA while leveraging the features of Apple devices.
This means users will be able to access critical data, processes, and interfaces, and make decisions or initiate actions right from their iPhone or iPad.
"This partnership is going to transform how iPhone and iPad are used in the enterprise by bringing together the innovation and security of iOS with SAP's deep expertise in business software," says Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. "As the market leader in enterprise software, with 76% of all business transactions touching an SAP system, SAP is the perfect partner to help us truly change how companies worldwide run their businesses. With the new SDK, we're empowering the over 2.5 million members of the global SAP developer community to build powerful, native apps that fully leverage the SAP HANA Cloud Platform and unlock the incredible capabilities only iOS devices offer."
Additionally, both companies plan to co-develop native iOS apps for business-critical core processes. These will be built using Swift, Apple's programming language, and their user experience will be similar to SAP Fiori for iOS.
The SAP Fiori for iOS design language combines design possibilities with the user-friendliness of Apple's operating system. To support this, SAP Academy for iOS will offer tools and training to help SAP developers utilize the SDK and Apple's hardware and software. All tools and training resources are expected to be available by the end of 2016.
Sources: SAP, Apple
