AppleInsider Staff
As part of an ongoing enterprise solutions partnership, Apple and IBM on Thursday announced Apple Watch support for three MobileFirst apps serving the healthcare, public safety and energy industries.
According to information posted to Apple's mobile enterprise apps webpage, MobileFirst Apple Watch integration appears to be basic extensions of host iOS apps, providing professionals access to notifications and alerts on the fly.
For example, healthcare app Hospital RN keeps nurses up to date on patient requests, changes in lab status, safety alerts and task lists by pushing notifications to Apple Watch. With vital information accessible at a glance, healthcare professionals can devote more time to patient care and less time on their iPhone.
Public safety app Incident Aware, which debuted as a MobileFirst launch title in December, bakes in similar push notification features that send urgent alerts to Apple Watch-wearing officials. In the example image, seen above, Watch displays a brief description of an emergency, its risk level and current distance to incident.
Finally, Field Connect's Watch app keeps personnel in the energy and utilities industry aware of adverse working conditions while on the job. Technicians working on power lines, for example, may get advance warning of high winds in the area.
Apple and IBM are expected to continue rolling out Apple Watch support across the MobileFirst suite of apps, though an exact availability timeline is unknown.
The MobileFirst initiative was announced last July and promises to yield more than 100 apps built around Apple's iOS platform. Under partnerships terms, IBM handles hardware leasing, device management, security, analytics, mobile integration and on-site repairs, while Apple aids in software development and customer support through AppleCare.
Malcolm Owen
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7 Comments
[quote name="AppleInsider" url="/t/186377/apple-ibm-roll-apple-watch-support-into-three-mobilefirst-apps#post_2725992"] For example, healthcare app Hospital RN keeps nurses up to date on patient requests, changes in lab status, safety alerts and task lists by pushing notifications to Apple Watch. With vital information accessible at a glance, healthcare professionals can devote more time to patient care and less time on their iPhone. [/quote] With the wearer's permission, of course, the heart-rate sensor will be able to chart when and how the nurse or other emergency responder is being stressed during the course of performing his/her duties. Such feedback could detect police officers becoming over-stressed, losing their cool, and making poor decisions that can become dangerous to the officer or the public. The right actions then could be taken to bring that officer back to his/her training and prevent career-damaging moves. I'm aware this sounds big-brother-like but it also provides a form of backup for the officer who is now on their own. In a high stress situation one cannot take a good self-assessment of their own state of mind.
[quote name="AppleInsider" url="/t/186377/apple-ibm-roll-apple-watch-support-into-three-mobilefirst-apps#post_2725992"]Apple and IBM are expected to continue rolling out Apple Watch support across the MobileFirst suite of apps, though an exact availability timeline is unknown. The MobileFirst initiative was announced last July and promises to yield more than 100 apps built around Apple's iOS platform. Under partnerships terms, IBM handles hardware leasing, device management, security, analytics, mobile integration and on-site repairs, while Apple aids in software development and customer support through AppleCare.[/quote] Has anyone tried to determine how many of the 100 apps have been released, or would this not be possible, due to privacy constraints? I remember an AI article a few months back that mentioned a few such apps. [COLOR=blue]Folding in Apple Watch to the MobileFirst initiative is an exciting development and further pushes Apple (and IBM) out in front of the "me too" heard.[/COLOR]
Apple and Ibm are just killing it. I wonder if their market share is growing.
Such feedback could detect police officers becoming over-stressed, losing their cool, and making poor decisions that can become dangerous to the officer or the public. The right actions then could be taken to bring that officer back to his/her training and prevent career-damaging moves.
I'm aware this sounds big-brother-like but it also provides a form of backup for the officer who is now on their own. In a high stress situation one cannot take a good self-assessment of their own state of mind.
It wouldn't be big brother like if the app kept the information localised. If a nurse wore the apple watch through their shift their heart rate could be used to indicate when they are fatigued. Similarly the movement data can indicate the level of business, and potentially be used as a trigger to call in additional staff or increase the number of break periods.
This could all translate into less mistakes in critical situations, such as in the hospital environment.
These are two great companies with rich histories collaborating, and they're merely getting started. It will be an amazing partnership when it fully comes to fruition. Competitors must be shaking their heads in frustration wondering how they're going to get into this space.