IBM has not only made nice with former rival Apple, but also is helping to deploy the tech company's devices more broadly.
Big Blue unveiled a service Wednesday to help enterprise clients integrate MacBook computers. The tech giants have grown cozier since starting an app collaboration last year, and IBM expects to manage 50,000 MacBooks by the end of the year, its Chief Information officer Jeff Smith told The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the program.
IBM's Apple computer inventory could grow to 200,000 eventually, the Journal reported. That would make it the largest corporate user of MacBooks.
"Ease of adoption and use are at the foundation of every Apple product, and as these devices are used more in the workplace, people expect the same experience they enjoy with Apple technology in their personal lives," said Richard Patterson, general manager of infrastructure services for IBM's global technology unit, in a statement.
IBM—a tech stalwart with about 380,000 workers—has attempted to adapt to a changing industry amid 13 straight quarters of overall revenue decline. The company has funneled money into key growth areas like data analytics and cloud computing, and partners like Apple and Box are crucial to that process.
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"We're always excited to hear about people switching to the Mac, and enterprise customers like IBM are certainly no exception," an Apple spokesman told CNBC.