HP mobile services target enterprise

Hewlett-Packard Co. this week introduced several products designed for carriers and enterprises that want to offer mobile services. Based on existing HP products and revamped consulting offerings, the new products include the following:

* Advanced voice interactive services and mobile extentions to the HP Opencall media platform;

* A mobile advertising delivery platform for service providers, which integrates with Opencall. Carriers who offer the service likely will give customers the option of listening to advertisements before making a mobile call in exchange for receiving free minutes;

* A mobile interface for HP OpenView Service Information Portal, which enables customers to view performance management data through mobile devices;

* HP Self Service portal, a product for carriers that enables phone customers to configure account options via the Web;

* A mobile portal package that includes the infrastructure, consulting services and mobile applications.

While wireless data services have been slower to take off in the United States than in Europe, HP is hoping to capitalize on the corporate market, which has been more enthusiastic about mobile applications than the consumer market here.

“Were looking at the picture a lot more broadly that the mobile Internet,” said Andrew Bolvell, director of mobile e-services at HP, in Cupertino. Calif. “Were seeing the uptake of different services in different parts of the world … in the US the primary focus is on the enterprise.”

In the States, HP has new mobile alliances with several services companies in the States who plan to use HP products to enable wireless access to back-end systems; these companies include Aether Systems Inc., Oracle Corp., PeopleSoft Inc., and Brience Inc.

But in terms of carrier-class services, the only partners so far are overseas. Swiss telecom provider SwissCom Group is using the mobile portal solution and the Italian provider WIND will be using the self-service portal solution. The mobile advertising system is in trials in Japan but nobody has committed to using it.