Apple has found a new partner to help improve work productivity and streamline processes: SAP. The deal is similar to the one Apple made with IBM some two years ago. There are differences, of course, but the main system being tapped is SAP's HANA system.

The HANA system, in a nutshell, allows businesses to analyze data much faster and be able to make predictions. What the system will do is to make a new iOS software development kit and so-called "training academy" to give developers an easier time building apps for their own businesses, CNET reported.

For example, a worker out in the field can use an app to predict when certain machinery will break down. With a simple app, the worker will be able to do maintenance work so as to prevent the break down. This is compared to the previous method which involved returning to the office to pick up real-time data and back out to the field.

The press release said that the partnership "will help deliver live data to people wherever and whenever they choose to work." Apple CEO Tim Cook added that a partnership between his company and SAP "will transform how iPhone and iPad are used in enterprise by bringing together the innovation and security of iOS with SAP's deep expertise in business software."

SAP plans on building over a hundred apps for iOS. The educational component, as Tech Crunch reported, involves SAP programmers to learn and use HANA iOS SDK. Steve Lucas, president of SAP's digital enterprise platform, has said that "we are approaching the building of these apps entirely differently, largely due to the way thinks about app design. I believe firmly they will fulfill mission by revolutionizing work on iPad, on iPhone."

The IBM deal that Apple struck in 2014 centered on pushing the use of Apple products to business users while maximizing IBM's cloud computing services. Everything from device management, security and analytics were tapped for iOS.

Another deal was even made with Cisco. Apple was able to make a so-called "fast lane" for Cisco gadgets running on Apple iOS. This allowed them to "zip through" the business environments of Cisco, something similar to cutting through red tape.