Dive Brief:

• IBM and United Airlines announced Thursday they will collaborate to build a new suite of enterprise iOS apps that are market ready. 

• The apps and 50,000 iOS devices will help United employees improve how they serve customers, IBM reports.

• The new apps will "be powered by analytics and customized to further drive the airline’s digital transformation, enhancing how United serves its customers," according to IBM. With the apps, employees can quickly tap into the information they need to address the needs of passengers. 

Dive Insight:

The days of heading to the airline ticket counter to check in may soon be gone for good. First it was kiosks, which helped a bit but still required us to do things in about the same manner we’d always done them. Now airline passengers may be greeted by agents roaming the airport with iPads or iPhones in hand ready to help with whatever passengers need at the time.

It’s all part of United’s push to truly digitally transform by changing the entire customer experience to revolve around the actual customer rather than what’s easiest for the company.

IBM and United will also work closely together to fast track the apps. It’s an experiment in what could eventually become standard operating procedure for lots of companies post digital transformation.