Global business and financial information network Bloomberg this morning announced the all-new Bloomberg Professional app for the iPad Pro – and that’s a big deal for Cupertino.
The 75% club
The app, which also includes Apple Pencil support, has been specifically designed to fully exploit the tablet’s 12.9-in. Retina Display. This means it delivers real-time data, comprehensive news, technical graphs, portfolio tracking and IM tools for use by Bloomberg customers.
The network says it chose to introduce support for the iPad Pro in response to user needs, citing year-on-year increase in Bloomberg Terminal usage on mobile.
“More than 75 percent of all users are accessing the Bloomberg Professional app on Apple products,” the company said.
Also read: 5 reasons enterprise users should consider iPad Pro
Apple’s market leadership in mobile devices across the financial sector is widely recognized. A recent Good Technology report claimed 76 percent of financial service mobile device activations were for iOS devices, partially because of the platform’s stronger security features, which have become essential to regulated industries.
An Apple planet
As I’ve been saying for many moons, the enterprise market is a growing business for Apple. During the most recent financial call, Apple CEO Tim Cook told us enterprise sales grew 40 percent this year, bringing in $25 billion in revenue. “The enterprise business is not to be underestimated,” he said. “I doubt very many people knew that we have a $25 billion enterprise business that we've quietly built in not too many years. Our penetration is low, but we have significant actions going on to really deepen that.”
Introduction of Bloomberg’s new app may not on the face of it seem so significant, but I still recall the reaction across CFOs at the EuroFinance conference in Geneva, Switzerland shortly after the iPad first appeared. These executives responded to the power, portability and design of these devices and it wasn’t too long until iPads began to appear in boardrooms across the planet. “The evolution of the mobile smartphone apps ecosystem has these most staid of business professionals excited,” I wrote at the time.
Bloomberg’s move to consolidate this loyalty around the iPad Pro can only be a good luck charm for Apple’s growing enterprise business.
“We are seeing a significant increase in mobile adoption among our users year-over-year, and our customers want access to their information – with the same productivity and speed - wherever they are, no matter which device they are using,” said Ben Macdonald, Bloomberg's Global Head of Product.
What it does
So, to the app – what do you get?
The press release claims:
“Key features of Bloomberg Professional on iPad Pro include:
· High resolution graphical enhancements to real-time data streaming, charts and graphs, ticking data, and pricing functionality as well as Bloomberg TV viewing.
· Split View capabilities taking multitasking further on iPad by allowing customers to view additional Bloomberg features and apps side-by-side, with the ability interact with content in both.
· Support for iOS 9 Picture-in-Picture capabilities allowing customers to continue to work while viewing Bloomberg TV in a moveable, resizeable window that floats over other apps onscreen.
· Support for Apple Pencil, delivering new ways to annotate charts, notes and research documents and then share with individuals and teams through the message function MSG<GO>.”
"Bloomberg has been innovating on mobile for over a decade and it is an important part of our strategy to continue to optimize the experience we bring to our customers," said Philip Miller, Head of Research and Development for Bloomberg Professional Mobile.
Et tu, Mac?
Naturally, where Apple’s iOS products lead, its Macs frequently follow. And as the largest and most successful enterprises migrate to Cook’s mobile products, it seems inevitable Apple’s “unprecedented” market share increases across enterprise markets will continue.
And it continues to amaze me how Apple has achieved this under the gaze of so much stiff competition and occasional media prejudice. It’s a remarkable achievement that’s likely only going to be dwarfed when UK Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, wins the next UK election.
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