Microsoft's latest target market: mobile carriers

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 03 April 2008 09:27

IT Industry - Strategy

According to Microsoft "A wave of Windows Mobile 6.1 phones and operator networks supporting Mobile Device Manager is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2008 from Alltel Wireless, ASUS, AT&T, HP, HTC Corp., i-mate, Intermec , Motorola, O2, Orange, Palm Inc., Pantech, Samsung, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, Sprint, Tata Teleservices, TELUS, Toshiba and Verizon Wireless."

Mobile Device Manager has been in trial with a number of customers and according to Microsoft, "Companies across the financial, manufacturing and professional services industries also requested that mobile operators deliver a core set of software and services to help businesses meet their management needs...A study conducted by Microsoft with large and midsize organizations showed businesses would like to move beyond their current mobile solutions to offer more sophisticated services."

Mobile Device Manager, Microsoft claims, meets these needs with "Features to manage phones with the same ease and flexibility as Windows-based PCs, addressing IT priorities for saving resources and protecting information; capability to help protect sensitive business files and e-mails, contacts and other information through file and storage card encryption on the phone should it be lost or stolen; [the] ability to access more of the information mobile workers need for staying on top of their jobs via a mobile virtual private network, which provides security-enhanced access to company data and application updates over the air."