SAP CEO Bill McDermott welcomed Apple CEO Tim Cook on stage at SAPPHIRE NOW and ASUG Annual Conference in Orlando to discuss the firms’ past, present, and future technology partnerships.

Perhaps the most open comment came from Apple’s Cook as he detailed the highs and lows of his organization’s business over the last couple of decades. “For those of you that don’t know, when Apple [as a company] was at its lowest point around about 1997 to 1998, we turned to SAP for the infrastructure of Apple... and it was a key catalyst in what enabled us to turn the company around,” Cook said.

Both men were keen to talk up the popularity of Apple’s devices around SAP’s global headquarters. Apparently, some 100,000 Apple devices are currently in use at SAP and there’s a positive drive to encourage employees to use them even more.