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Apple and HP Discussed 'Enterprise Siri' Search Product Ahead of Apple's IBM Deal

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Before announcing an enterprise partnership with IBM, Apple reportedly had discussions with Hewlett-Packard over a mobile search product nicknamed "Enterprise Siri." Detailed in a report from The Information (via BusinessInsider), "Enterprise Siri" is an HP product designed to allow employees to ask their devices for company-specific information like financial data or product inventory numbers.

According to The Information's report, though Apple held discussions with HP, the latter company has also been in talks with Google's Android unit for the past year over a potential partnership for the "Enterprise Siri" technology, which could lead to something like an enterprise version of Google Now for corporate data.
The idea is for employees to be able to ask their Android device for company information such as financial data or product inventory information in the same way they do routine personal searches for weather, traffic or restaurant locations. Google search doesn't currently offer any such integration with corporate databases and software applications, but it's an area Google has looked at as it tries to chip away at the iPhone's lead among business customers.
Click to expand...
Now that Apple has inked a deal with IBM to further its hold on the enterprise market, a deal with HP for a powerful enterprise search product could allow Google to gain ground as well.

While more than 98 percent of Fortune 500 companies already use Apple devices in their businesses, Apple's recent partnership with IBM has the potential to skyrocket Apple's enterprise sales. As part of the deal, IBM will develop more than 100 industry-specific native apps that are built from the ground up for the iPhone and the iPad to draw new customers in industries like retail, healthcare, banking, travel, transportation, and more.

IBM will also offer Apple's iOS devices to its corporate customers and has plans to provide cloud storage, analytics services, and 24/7 assistance to enterprise customers under a new AppleCare plan. IBM's first apps will roll out this fall, with additional apps coming in 2015.

Article Link: Apple and HP Discussed 'Enterprise Siri' Search Product Ahead of Apple's IBM Deal
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2014/08/13/apple-hp-enterprise-siri-product/
Dilster3k

Dilster3k

macrumors 6502a
Jul 20, 2014
790
3,206
With HP? On Android devices?
What's the point of this anyway can't you just search the information you need, it'll probably be quicker than getting Siri to do it right anyway.
 
adamw

adamw

macrumors 6502a
Sep 22, 2006
747
1,815
Enterprise Siri must not have worked for Apple. Maybe HP wanted too much, or had restrictive licensing terms. Now Google may be the best offer for HP's technology.
 
Rogifan

Rogifan

macrumors Penryn
Nov 14, 2011
24,132
31,175
Microsoft OEM's in bed with Google and Android. I'd say that's a pretty good indication that Surface won't be killed by Microsoft anytime soon.
 
iZac

iZac

macrumors 68030
Apr 28, 2003
2,593
2,776
UK
Although they apparently anonomyse the requests, it still gets sent out to a server to analyse and return the requested info. Would you want any remotely sensitive data being sent and retrieved from a 3rd party server for your company?

This sounds like a stupid idea because the only companies big enough to make this financially viable would balk at what could go wrong if the system failed or was compromised.
 
S

smulji

macrumors 68030
Feb 21, 2011
2,844
2,715
Rogifan said:
Microsoft OEM's in bed with Google and Android. I'd say that's a pretty good indication that Surface won't be killed by Microsoft anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Reports of MS exiting the hardware business are exaggerated.
 
dlewis23

dlewis23

macrumors 65816
Oct 23, 2007
1,149
1,827
Rogifan said:
Microsoft OEM's in bed with Google and Android. I'd say that's a pretty good indication that Surface won't be killed by Microsoft anytime soon.
Click to expand...

I would agree but they better find out a way to make some money off that thing some point soon or wall street is not gonna be a big fan of it.
 
D

Daalseth

macrumors 6502a
Jun 16, 2012
599
306
Siri....tell me what the server and network passwords are.

Working...

123456
ABCDEF
Default
Administrator
SteveBallmerRules
 
C

ChrisCW11

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2011
1,037
1,433
What is "Enterprise Siri"

I can just imagine what Siri for Enterprise would actually sound like:

User: "Siri, what movies are playing near me?"
Enterprise Siri: "You shouldn't be searching for movies while working, your supervisor has been notified."

User: "Siri, where can I get the best price for a Porsche 911?"
Enterprise Siri: "Nowhere on your salary, get back to work".

User: "Siri, what..."
Enterprise Siri: "GET...BACK....TO....WORK!"

User: "Still a bitch..."
 
F

flash84x

macrumors regular
Aug 5, 2011
189
132
No, no, no, no!

Apple, focus! You have a lot of room to improve Siri for the consumer space first.
 
2

2457282

Suspended
Dec 6, 2012
3,327
3,015
Dilster3k said:
With HP? On Android devices?
What's the point of this anyway can't you just search the information you need, it'll probably be quicker than getting Siri to do it right anyway.
Click to expand...

You cannot "google" or ask Siri about information inside the corporate firewall. There is a lot of information there, on the intranet, the LAN drives, the mail system, and the corporate databases. All these things have valuable information; most are secured at some level. If you had the ability to use a search engine to easily find information in one of these data stores, it would be great. If that were fully integrated into your mobile device, it would be even better.

Google already sells services/appliances to corporations that allow them to set up a internal search engine, but that (from what I remember) was designed to search bars in a company's website (internal/external). This seems a bit more ambitious and if done right, this could be a big deal.
 
mainstreetmark

mainstreetmark

macrumors 68020
May 7, 2003
2,228
293
Saint Augustine, FL
Do people actually get value out of Siri? I recall the commercials showing some comical conversational style, and i know it's got like 4 canned jokes, but the only thing of value that it has ever been to me is to set an alarm. 'Wake me up at 7' works about 90% of the time. Nothing else.
 
E

eyhk

macrumors member
Aug 27, 2010
37
0
I'd love to see Apple try to integrate anything with IBM Cognos. I can just see Jony Ive pulling his nonexistent hair out in frustration.

"Damn you Cognos!"
 
umrk

umrk

macrumors newbie
Aug 2, 2010
22
0
Dilster3k said:
With HP? On Android devices?
What's the point of this anyway can't you just search the information you need, it'll probably be quicker than getting Siri to do it right anyway.
Click to expand...

Exactly. voice search does not appear to me as a decisive functionality in enterprise environment. Keyword search is already available, as long as the information is indexed, through available present tools in enterprise environment.

The sad thing, I have observed, is that noone in IT departments seems to understand the need to promote these indexing functions, which, because of this, remain largely unknown and unused ...

the resistance to change in business IT departments is beyond my comprehension ...
 
ricci

ricci

macrumors 6502
Aug 21, 2012
259
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I don't think the typical macrumor visitor realizes just how big this is for Apple! Has the potential to launch Apple to the next level and that's the business side! Go Apple!
 
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Daalseth

macrumors 6502a
Jun 16, 2012
599
306
mainstreetmark said:
Do people actually get value out of Siri? I recall the commercials showing some comical conversational style, and i know it's got like 4 canned jokes, but the only thing of value that it has ever been to me is to set an alarm. 'Wake me up at 7' works about 90% of the time. Nothing else.
Click to expand...

I've played with it a couple of times but never found it useful.
 
I

imageWIS

macrumors 65816
Mar 17, 2009
1,281
822
NYC
mainstreetmark said:
Do people actually get value out of Siri? I recall the commercials showing some comical conversational style, and i know it's got like 4 canned jokes, but the only thing of value that it has ever been to me is to set an alarm. 'Wake me up at 7' works about 90% of the time. Nothing else.
Click to expand...

It's actually a negative feature in NYC, where when utilizing the subway and the there is no internet connection, when I hold the headset button to ask the phone to search for a particular song, Siri tells me "Internet not available, connect to the internet" even though I have NO need for the phone to utilize the internet.

I have turned Siri off and my life has been better for it.
 
S

ssspinball

macrumors 6502
Aug 6, 2008
348
174
mainstreetmark said:
Do people actually get value out of Siri? I recall the commercials showing some comical conversational style, and i know it's got like 4 canned jokes, but the only thing of value that it has ever been to me is to set an alarm. 'Wake me up at 7' works about 90% of the time. Nothing else.
Click to expand...

I use "navigate home" very oftenl
 
T

Tech198

Cancelled
Mar 21, 2011
15,915
2,151
I think that's the problem.

The fact for Siri to do anything useful just would need internet access..

Same with others...

5EB is allot to stick in a phone... I can't ever see that amount of storage happening at all.

Unless some magic happens.

I don't use Siri at all.... Good feature of a phone, but I find Google is allot quicker, and more accurate.

Particularly if i've had a few. Every WWDC Apple always highlights "sports"...

There are other things to ask Siri for than just more sport scores..
 
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