Nokia to provide easy wireless access to Exchange Server 2003 data, including wireless email, calendar and contacts in future mobile devices
3GSM World Congress
Nokia’s Enterprise Solutions business group today announced that it has licensed Microsoft Corp’s Exchange Server ActiveSync protocol to enable wireless and direct synchronization between Microsoft Exchange Server, part of the Windows Server System and future Nokia enterprise mobile devices. The terms of the licensing agreement were not disclosed.
The collaboration between the two companies will allow Nokia to build a direct over-the-air synchronization link between Nokia enterprise mobile devices running on Nokia’s Series 60 and Series 80 software platforms and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 for email and other personal information management (PIM) data, such as calendar information and contacts. By integrating the Exchange Server ActiveSync protocol into Nokia devices, enterprise customers are provided with an easy-to-use, secure, wireless email solution that is cost-effective and can be deployed quickly and easily. Nokia will continue to support the OMA Data Synchronization protocol and its own Nokia PC Suite, a local connectivity solution that utilizes OMA Data Synchronization for PCs and Nokia mobile devices.
“Nokia is committed to answering the broader needs of enterprises across the world by giving them access to the widest possible choice of email and PIM solutions on the market today and tomorrow,” said Mary McDowell, senior vice president and general manager, Nokia’s Enterprise Solutions business group. “Licensing this protocol provides our customers with a seamless solution for integrating our mobile devices into their back-end.”
“Microsoft’s goal is to deliver flexible, integrated solutions that fuel innovation for our partners and provide our customers with a variety of options to enable secure, wireless and direct synchronization to their mobile device.” said Pieter Knook, senior Vice President, Mobile and Embedded Devices Division at Microsoft Corp. “The licensing of Exchange Server ActiveSync is an example of Microsoft’s drive towards interoperable technologies that will help to lower IT costs for our customers.”
According to leading IT market research firm IDC, 84 percent of businesses that either already have or are planning in the next year to integrate wireless devices with corporate systems will look to deploy email first, and then follow with personal information management, calendar applications and customer relationship management or sales force automation applications at the same time or soon after. To drive broader adoption of mobile email, Nokia will provide a combination of robust email and synchronization solutions giving enterprises the ability to deploy mobile email to a wider range of users within their company. Collaboration between emerging and established email solutions players will help to speed and facilitate the adoption of enterprise application mobility.