Enterprises Get More Mobile E-Mail Choices

For Microsoft, the deal with Sony Ericsson continues its "ongoing commitment to expanding our IP licensing efforts, making it easier for others to license the companys growing IP portfolio based on its significant R&D efforts," Ressler said.

Read more here about Nokias licensing of the Exchange Server ActiveSync protocol to enable synchronization with future Nokia enterprise mobile devices.

The deal will help provide mobile workers access to their complete Exchange Server 2003 information, including e-mail, calendar and contacts, wherever they are.

"Mobile workers are increasingly looking for ways to stay connected on the move. The combination of our recently announced P990 and M600 phones together with the Exchange ActiveSync protocol, allows customers to easily manage their Exchange e-mail, calendar and contacts on the move," said Brendan Press, head of enterprise marketing at Sony Ericsson.

The Sony Ericsson Web site says the P990 was the first smart phone to adopt the Symbian OS v9.1 and the UIQ 3 software platform.

"This UMTS smart phone is Wi-Fi-enabled, has Java API support to access the 2 megapixel camera, has a large QVGA touch screen and features a hardware keyboard beneath the flip-down keypad," the site says.

According to research firm Gartner Dataquest, Microsoft Exchange currently has some 48 percent of the enterprise e-mail and calendaring software market, based on new license revenue.

"Organizations today require a more secure wireless solution for their mobile workers that is easy to manage and supported by a variety of devices. By licensing Exchange ActiveSync, Sony Ericsson is now able to deliver a comprehensive mobile messaging solution to these customers," Ressler said.

Last December, Microsoft released the first beta for Exchange "12"—the next version of its e-mail, calendaring and unified messaging server—to a closed group of some 1,400 testers selected from its global customer, OEM, ISV and system integrator base.

Click here to read more about the changes Exchange 12 will bring, especially the role-based server architecture.

For its part, Funambol v3 implements the Open Mobile Alliance Device Management/Device Synchronization (OMA DM/DS) standards, formerly known as SyncML, with some 75 percent of new mobile handsets sold worldwide now being SyncML compatible.

"Open-source software and standards will accelerate mobile e-mail deployments, increase revenue opportunities for carriers and give enterprises more flexibility. We believe that mobile e-mail will quickly become a commodity, so open source is the natural approach to this market place," said Fabrizio Capobianco, the CEO of Funambol.

Like many other open-source companies, Funambol, which is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., and has a development center in Italy, uses a dual-licensing model, where the commercial version has additional features, broader platform support, intellectual property protections, commercial license terms and available support.

As such, Funambol v3 is available in Carrier and Enterprise editions, and its components can be licensed separately for ISV and OEM contracts.

The company is not disclosing specific pricing, as it says this is customized for each customers needs, but products are typically sold on an annual per-user basis.

Funambol customers such as Ray Espinosa, the president of ePLDT, a wholly owned subsidiary of PLDT, the Philippines largest carrier, welcomed the latest release.

"Funambol v3 will allow us to better meet the needs of all our customers with branded personal information management and push email services around Sync123, the leading mobile personal information management service in Asia," he said.

"Sync123 is essential to our plans of further expanding our mobile data services and provide for the ever-growing needs of our consumers," Espinosa said in a statement.

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