In a press statement yesterday, IBM and Twitter announced a partnership to help inform business decisions. This move comes three months after IBM announced its partnership with Apple.

The statement says that “Twitter represents the public pulse of the planet. Coupled with IBM’s industry-leading cloud-based analytics, customer engagement platforms and consulting services, together we have the potential to transform how businesses and institutions understand their customers, markets and trends”.

The collaboration will focus on three areas:

Integration of Twitter data with IBM analytics services on the cloud

IBM plans to offer Twitter data as part of select cloud-based services, including IBM Watson Analytics, a new cognitive service brings intuitive visualization and predictive capabilities to business users; and IBM DataWorks™, cloud-based data refinery service that enables application developers to embed data services in applications. Entrepreneurs and software developers will also be able to integrate Twitter data into new cloud services they are building with IBM’s Watson Developer Cloud or IBM Bluemix platform-as-a-service.

New data-intensive capabilities for the enterprise

IBM and Twitter will deliver a set of enterprise applications to help improve business decisions across industries and professions. The first joint solution will integrate Twitter data with IBM ExperienceOne customer engagement solutions, allowing sales, marketing, and customer service professionals to map sentiment and behavior to better engage and support their customers.

Specialized enterprise consulting

IBM Global Business Services consultants will have access to Twitter data to improve consulting services for clients. Additionally, IBM and Twitter will collaborate to develop unique solutions for specific industries such as banking, consumer products, retail, and travel and transportation.

“Twitter provides a powerful new lens through which to look at the world – as both a platform for hundreds of millions of consumers and business professionals, and as a synthesizer of trends,” says Ginni Rometty, IBM Chairman, President and CEO in the statement. “This partnership, drawing on IBM’s leading cloud-based analytics platform, will help clients enrich business decisions with an entirely new class of data. This is the latest example of how IBM is reimagining work.”

“When it comes to enterprise transformation, IBM is an undisputed global leader in enabling companies to take advantage of emerging technologies and platforms,” adds Dick Costolo, Twitter CEO. “This important partnership with IBM will change the way business decisions are made – from identifying emerging market opportunities to better engaging clients, partners and employees.”

“IBM brings a unique combination of cloud-based analytics solutions and a global services team that can help companies utilize this truly unique data,” says Chris Moody, vice president of Twitter data strategy. “Companies have had successes with Twitter data – from manufacturers more effectively managing inventory to consumer electronic companies doing rapid product development. This partnership with IBM will allow faster innovation across a broader range of use cases at scale.”