Symbian announced it will license Microsoft Corp.’s ActiveSync wireless e-mail technology, a move aimed at making the Symbian platform more appealing to corporate users. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Developing Microsoft’s Exchange Server ActiveSync protocol plug-in for Symbian OS continues Symbian’s drive to offer the broadest possible choice of e-mail and PIM solutions,” said Marit Doving, executive vice president of marketing for Symbian. “This will help all Symbian OS licensees meet the needs of the enterprise market.”
Symbian’s new licensing agreement with Microsoft adds yet another layer of complication to the wireless marketplace. First, the move is notable for Symbian because the vendor is locked in a battle with Microsoft over the market for smart-phone operating systems. It is also an acknowledgement of Microsoft’s top position in the corporate desktop computer world. Second, the move is notable for the wireless enterprise market in general, because Symbian also supports wireless e-mail technologies from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. and a variety of others. Indeed, Symbian appears to be following the lead of Symbian licensee Nokia Corp., which has also licensed wireless e-mail technology from both Microsoft and RIM. Nokia too is battling against Microsoft’s entry into the smart-phone OS market.
Thus, Symbian is competing against Microsoft’s advancements in the wireless sector by licensing the company’s technology, thereby diminishing the differences between the Symbian OS and the Microsoft Windows Mobile OS.
Symbian’s deal with Microsoft gives the operating-system vendor access to Microsoft’s ActiveSync wireless e-mail technology. The technology essentially sends e-mails from Microsoft’s Exchange e-mail service to wireless devices. Symbian’s licensees-which include Nokia, Motorola, Panasonic, Sendo, Sharp, Sony Ericsson and others-will be able to install ActiveSync in their Symbian-based devices.
Although Symbian is working to break into the corporate market, some industry observers see significant obstacles for the company.
Tony Cripps, a senior analyst with research and consulting firm Ovum, said Symbian’s deal with Microsoft is “a good start for providing an enterprise base for the wide family of Symbian-based mobile devices, but nevertheless a limited one.
“Simply licensing Exchange Server ActiveSync will not suddenly turn enterprises onto Symbian, which continues to fly under the technology radar of most CIOs, although some may have crept in by the back door as part of a business handset upgrade program or as personal phones,” he said. “For most IT buyers and business people, BlackBerry remains today’s de-facto means of accessing email on the move. Tomorrow, Windows Mobile devices may provide more obvious synergies with Microsoft server products, whether real or imagined.”
