The partnership that IBM Corp. struck with Apple Inc. last year to produce a series of business applications for iOS is moving beyond mobility with the launch of a new service suite that the enterprise technology stalwart is targeting towards large organizations adopting Mac machines. That segment represents a potentially massive opportunity that it’s in a unique position to address.

Big Blue isn’t the first nor the only to offer help with integrating Apple computers into traditionally Windows-centric corporate networks, but boasts a much better brand awareness among CIOs than any of its competitors along a global reach to match. And with a full 40 percent of companies not yet providing support for Mac, it will take nothing short of that to change the status quo.

The MobileFirst Managed Mobility suite implements lessons that the technology giant learned as part of its own internal Mac adoption program, which saw Apple machines start shipping out to thousands of employees around the world in the beginning of the year. The service bundle replicates that with a procurement plan that enables organizations to purchase their computers directly from IBM.

That allows the company to take care of any customization that a customer may require, which can be a major time-saver for companies with specialized security needs or just complicated backend services requiring manual integration.  And once delivered, Macs purchased through the program can be managed using the same platform as employee-owned machines brought into the workplace as part of bring-your-own-device initiatives.

That platform is the Casper Suite, a deployment and maintenance tool specifically geared towards Apple products that IBM is licensing from an outfit called JAMF Software Inc. based in far away Minneapolis. The software was chosen in part because it’s used by a significant portion of the organizations that already support Macs on their networks.

Rounding out the value proposition are support and update automation capabilities from IBM’s own portfolio, along with an app catalog where organizations can make pre-approved software available to employees on-demand. That self-service theme extends to the user help component as well, in the form of guides, automated password resets and other conveniences that have required turning to the IT department in the past.

Now that IBM’s partnership with Apple has branched beyond mobility, the sky’s the limit on where the alliance could be taken from here onwards as the two move to expand their respective footholds in the enterprise. We’ll no doubt find out in the coming months and quarters.

Photo via Apple