Google & HP are in talks to create an enterprise version of Siri

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Apple’s mega deal with IBM could give it a death grip on the enterprise market, but according to a report from The Information, Google’s Android team has been deep in talks with HP on ways it can push Android deeper into enterprise itself.

Using Google Now’s voice-search powers, the Android unit and HP have been discussing the potential of creating a mobile search product nicknamed “Enterprise Siri,” that could access financial data, product inventory, and more to become the perfect Siri-like tool for enterprise customers.

Apple’s partnership with IBM is expected to boost sales of iPhones and iPads among Fortune 500 companies, thanks in part to the 100 iOS apps and other enterprise features IBM has promised to develop specifically for the iPhone and iPad. Android is looking to keep up with the IBM deal by adding some enterprise features of its own, one of which could be Enterprise Siri.

The idea is for employees to be able to ask their Android device for company information such as financial data or product inventory information in the same way they do routine personal searches for weather, traffic or restaurant locations. Google search doesn’t currently offer any such integration with corporate databases and software applications, but it’s an area Google has looked at as it tries to chip away at the iPhone’s lead among business customers

HP’s expertise in enterprise could make it a good fit for Google after Apple and IBM already announced their partnership last month. The two companies have been in talks for over a year, but Google reportedly isn’t quite as interested in the deal yet as HP.

According to the report, HP actually brought up the idea of Enterprise Siri to Apple earlier this year, but Apple’s partnership with IBM squashed any hopes of it happening. HP also approached ex-Android head Andy Rubin about building a enterprise Nexus phone with advanced encryption, but the idea was also shot down.

Via: BI

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