I tried looking that up - there really is very little information about Whirlwind on the web. Maybe IBM is quietly gathering information about useage so that they can write a white paper about it. Or maybe they will use it in television advertising.
As popular as apps have become, I would not be surprised if it pops up in IBM's marketing efforts at some point.
An organization can set-up its enterprise app store to be as stringent or loose as it wants, I believe, Kim. Some companies include hundreds of apps, including games. Others focus more on business-only apps. From reading and talking to IT execs, the wisest course appears to be to include the gamut, especially for those (many) companies implementing BYOD. Otherwise, employees will still need to use Apple or Google, etc., to download recreational apps. If a company includes all types of apps in its enterprise app store, it is then the one-stop app shop for both corporate and personal apps, giving the business total control over the quality and source of software that each employee can use -- although employees can pick and choose which apps among the many available to them they actually download and operate.
I'm glad you mentioned Google, because they have the Google Apps Marketplace, which I believe is highly underrated. It is an app store that is open to all to browse, but only works with Google Apps. You install applications in your Google Apps instance, and just like the rest of the suite works in the cloud via the browser. I understand that it has been very successful for Google, but they have never broken down numbers on that aspect of the business.
One of several great aspects of enterprise app stores is their nimbleness and agility, giving companies the ability to quickly add platforms and apps to meet employees' needs. That's one reason they're seen by many as a way to deal with BYOD: Instead of opening up the entire Apple or Google world of apps to workers, a corporation (large to small) can handpick a smaller number of apps, giving employees multiple options but reducing the support issues for IT. So employees still can play Angry Birds on their own time, for example, but would only be able to choose from, say, six CRM apps instead of 150.
Interesting - it is for mobile devices. I did not realize that. Also interesting is that the platform is for Blackberry devices as of May 2011. But IBM is seeing where mobile is heading - they are working on Android and iOS apps as well - and probably already have them available - according to the report that you linked to.
Looks as though Whirlwind is an app store to guarantee the safety and quality of software to its employees, according to Baseline magazine. IBM wrote a case study about the app store; more than 28K employees have signed-on to it since 2010, the company said. It's available to employees through IBM's mobile intranet. Sounds really cool.
I had never heard of IBM's Whirlwind before this post. It must be only for exclusive customers - I was unable to find much information about it on Google. So not only is Whirlwind private-label, it's also very restricted on who can access it. That's the way IBM likes it because it is another part of their overall package of adding value for their enterprise clients.
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M.
The smartphone market reached a significant milestone, a breakthrough that may cause vendors to celebrate but could strain the capabilities of IT service desks.
In the fall of 2011, around 160,000 students in 190 countries enrolled in a Stanford-sponsored online course about artificial intelligence. About 23,000 completed the course and got certificates, including 248 who got a perfect score. The university offered the same course the old-fashioned way to students sitting in Stanford classrooms. None of the those students got a perfect score.
As Mitch Wagner discussed today, Yahoo is acquiring Tumblr. The big Internet debate at the moment is whether Tumblr will be good or bad for Yahoo. Regardless of their stances on the future of Yahoo itself, many claim that Yahoo will somehow ruin Tumblr.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
Ushering in a new era of cognitive computing systems, IBM announced today the IBM Watson Engagement Advisor, a technology breakthrough that allows brands to crunch big data in record time to transform the way they engage clients in key functions such as customer service, marketing, and sales.
Expert Integrated Systems: Changing the Experience & Economics of IT In this e-book, we take an in-depth look at these expert integrated systems -- what they are, how they work, and how they have the potential to help CIOs achieve dramatic savings while restoring IT's role as business innovator. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE