Apple and Cisco announced on Monday that the two companies have formed a partnership to bring iPads and iPhones to business users by integrating Cisco's technology, including video and Web conferencing.
Engineers from both companies collaborated for 10 months to finalize the integration. Apple is hoping that the partnership will help boost iPad sales that have dropped by 24 percent in the past nine months. Cisco, on the other hand, is looking for something that would increase the company's profitability under its new chief executive John Chambers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"This is a major strategic partnership, something that neither company has done before," Rowan Trollope, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's Collaboration Technology Group, told Bloomberg. "We have a shared vision of a completely seamless experience."
So what changes are we expecting to see on the business iPads and iPhones? Examples include users clicking on a calendar appointment which would automatically launch the video conferencing app, contacts syncing on iPhones and desk phones, and calls being routed on both iPhones and desk phones.
Both companies are targeting to have a number of apps ready for banking, finance, retail and airlines by the end of the year, eWeek reported.
This is not the first time that Apple decided to partner with another tech company. Last year, Apple partnered with IBM to sell iPhones and iPads that are loaded with business applications.
Apple is set to unveil its latest iPhones, iPads and Apple TV on Sept. 9 on its San Francisco event.
