Microsoft, Nokia to develop and market mobile productivity solutions
12 August, 2009
By Chris Talbot |
Microsoft and Nokia have formed a global alliance to bring Microsoft Office software, as well as collaboration and communications software, to Nokia's smartphones, beginning with the mobile device manufacturer's E-Series phones.
Although the companies will continue to compete in some areas, they will begin to work closely together to bring business applications and services to their mutual customers, first through the E-Series smartphones and then later through more of Nokia's smartphones. Microsoft plans to bring Office, communications and collaboration software to the Nokia's smartphones, and the two companies will jointly market and develop solutions, said Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft Business Division.
In the longer term, the two companies will jointly design a range of user experiences for Nokia devices, he added.
"This agreement is significant for both companies. It's the first time Microsoft will develop rich Office Mobile applications for another smartphone platform," Elop said.
Work has already begun on developing the applications, but Kai Öistämö, executive vice president devices at Nokia, noted that they won't be available on Nokia smartphones until sometime in 2010. The first offering that will be available on Nokia smartphones is Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile to extend the collaboration and communications capabilities of Nokia smartphone business users.
Nokia and Microsoft plan to develop integrated solutions for mobility productivity applications, Öistämö said.
"These applications will be tailored and will be updated as Microsoft launches new versions of Office Mobile in the future," Öistämö said.
Users will be able to get the Microsoft Office desktop experience on smartphones, and they'll also be able to access Microsoft SharePoint from mobile devices for collaboration purposes, he said.
However, this is just scratching the surface of the alliance, he said.
"This is much more than just putting Microsoft software on Nokia smartphones," Öistämö said.
Both companies will deliver the solutions through their partners.
"With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us," Elop said. "Today's announcement will enable us to expand Microsoft Office Mobile to Nokia smartphone owners worldwide and allow them to collaborate on Office documents from anywhere, as part of our strategy to provide the best productivity experience across the PC, phone and browser."
Of course, this is not the first time Microsoft and Nokia have worked together. The two companies have partnered in other areas in the past.
"This partnership was founded with the customer in mind and understanding that mobile workers of the future will need to get more from their mobile devices," Öistämö said.
According to Öistämö, the alliance between Nokia and Microsoft will create a formidable challenge for competitors, in particular RIM.
"The scope of the alliance between Microsoft and Nokia, and potential value for the enterprise and individual is significant," said Stephen Drake, vice president of mobility and telecom at IDC. "By bringing Microsoft's productivity solutions to Nokia's large customer base, the two companies should be better able to serve the needs of the growing mobile worker population, which IDC estimates to reach 1 billion worldwide in 2011." |
