The word synergy comes from the Greek word ‘synergos’ meaning ‘working together’. This is not a word you would expect to use when discussing the 30-year relationship between IBM and Apple. However, that is just what IBM and Apple announced in 2014 with an exclusive partnership that teams the market-leading strengths of each company to transform enterprise mobility.

The partnership gives both companies an advantage they are seeking.  Apple stands to gain a stronger foothold in the enterprise for OS X and iOS while IBM would potentially gain traction by offering IBM developed vertical applications to leverage the ever-increasing mobile computing boom.

Let’s take a look at some statistics.  Over 98% of the Fortune 500 and over 92% of the Global 500 are using iOS devices in their businesses today.  For those clients who may not have leveraged the full power of Apple’s mobile offerings, Apple wants to penetrate the enterprise even further by making mobility far more than just a means for emailing and calendaring.

So, you might ask, “What does all of this have to do with Apple Macintosh in the Enterprise?”

As a result of the popularity of Apple’s iOS devices, Macintosh computers have – to some degree - traditionally benefitted from what’s sometimes been termed a ‘halo effect’.  The adoption of – and moreover, the value proposition for - iPads and iPhones by enterprises has lead businesses to think about Macintosh in a new and different way.  In other words, many clients have had thoughts something along the lines of, “If Apple’s iPhone and iPad products are this terrific, then I wonder about their Macintosh product.”

Here's a great article outlining this 'halo effect'

Halo still in effect: Apple sees iPads as gateway to Macs

Given this, it stands to reason that as this joint Apple, Inc. and IBM partnership moves to even further the value of Apple’s iOS devices in the enterprise, this Macintosh ‘halo effect’ will only benefit more than ever.  And, as a part of this agreement, the fact that the IBM salespeople will also be carrying and utilizing Macintosh in their sales efforts will add further credence to the value of the Macintosh platform.