3GSM, Cannes, Feb 23, 2004 - Forging a tighter bond between the worlds of IT and communications, IBM and Nokia today announced that they will jointly deliver mobile solutions that enable greater workforce mobility.
The combination of Nokia's Communicator platform and IBM's mobile software offers increased functionality, such as instant messaging, increased personal productivity, ubiquitous connectivity and superior user experience of enterprise applications into the hands of mobile workers worldwide.
Initially targeted at sales and field force automation in the pharmaceutical, insurance and government industries, early implementers will include Pfizer, Ricoh and Daimler Chrysler. This will allow, for example, field personnel and sales representatives to access work orders and sales manuals from their company servers via Nokia communicators, provide faster and more efficient service, and reduce their cost of sales and services.
The solutions are powered by a mix of IBM software products optimized for the Nokia Communicator platform running on the Symbian Operating System. These include WebSphere Everyplace Access Client, WebSphere Everyplace Connection Manager Client, WebSphere Micro Environment, IBM Tivoli and Lotus Sametime Instant Messaging Client for the Nokia Communicator. These provide access to a wide range of enterprise backend systems, enabling users to maintain a seamless connection to critical information, and enable enterprises and service providers to securely extend a new class of high value applications and services to mobile users. IBM Global Services will provide system integration services for these solutions.
"IBM is committed to supporting a range of devices - on multiple operating systems. The Symbian OS is proving to be a robust enterprise platform for deployment of enterprise class devices," said Gary Cohen, General Manager, IBM Pervasive Computing Division. "Today's announcement with Nokia not only underscores the importance of Java in the device arena, it also reflects the importance companies are placing on wireless technology to help extend access to their enterprise applications and infrastructure."
Together, Nokia and IBM have developed the extremely comprehensive Java (TM) environment for the enterprise mobility including J2ME MIDP 2.0 and CDC Personal Profile 1.0 and several other mobile and wireless Java APIs. IBM WebSphere Micro Environment for the Symbian OS will provide a J2ME Personal Profile runtime environment in the new Nokia 9500 Communicator to enable middleware integration and the extension of enterprise services to the mobile space. Developers will be able to use a desktop Java Development Kit, which is compatible with the Java environment in the Nokia Communicator. This will enable them to extend their existing Java-based applications to the device by using the skills and resources they already have.
IBM is also tuning its WebSphere Studio Device Developer software tools to create an environment tailored for efficient development and optimization of enterprise applications that will run on the Nokia Communicators. In addition, IBM Tivoli mobile device solutions allow enterprise customers to extend the same system management software used to manage desktops, laptops and servers to mobile devices on demand through the Tivoli Provisioning Manager and Tivoli Configuration Manager products. This improves the efficiency of managing the business as mobile devices will be able to receive configuration setting and software application downloads on the fly, without relying on a hard-wired connection to a server or desktop.
"Pfizer has been a long standing customer of Nokia and IBM, utilising the previous Nokia Communicators with sales force automation tools developed by IBM," said Elina Jaakovlew, Sales Director, Pfizer Finland. "We have been very pleased with lean functionality and increased productivity, as our sales force no longer needs visits to office for reporting or updating their sales data. This has also resulted in more effective customer contact. We are eager to explore the new Nokia Communicator platform and to port our solution on it. With enhanced functionality and easy-to-use security, we believe that the new Nokia 9500 Communicator will become an even more popular tool for our sales force."
"Efficient maintenance service is essential to success in our business. Ricoh has discovered that equipping the photocopier field service personnel with the previous Nokia Communicators and field force automation tools from IBM has resulted in faster responsiveness to maintenance calls and more efficient routing and work scheduling. Our staff in the field gets their assignments sent directly to their Communicators, which they also use to report accomplished tasks and receive further instructions. We look forward to working with Nokia and IBM on the new Communicator family of products to further improve our efficiency," said Claude Duvernay, Marketing and Communications Director, Ricoh.
This enterprise mobility platform gives enterprise software vendors, such as Siebel Systems, an opportunity to create more value for their clients in a mobile environment. For example Siebel Pharma, the pharmaceutical industry's market leading sales force automation solution, can take an advantage of the unique capabilities and ubiquitous network connectivity of the new Nokia 9500 Communicator, launched today.
"The IBM software solutions for this platform enable organizations to give their employees a pervasive access to their Siebel CRM applications using IBM leading capabilities in wireless e-business. " said Marty Sunde, Vice-President of Alliances at Siebel Systems. "We are delighted to extend our alliance with IBM to deliver this new breed of mobile CRM solution that will be key in an increasingly untethered world."
"Nokia and IBM are a very complementary match when it comes to extending mobility into the enterprise," said Niklas Savander, Senior Vice President, Nokia Enterprise Solutions. "We have a long-standing alliance that capitalizes on our respective strengths - Nokia as the leader in mobility and enterprise voice, and IBM as the leader in e-business solutions. We are very pleased to see that the joining of forces of IBM and Nokia brings a broad variety of applications, tools and solutions available to businesses worldwide. Together we have a compelling value proposition for mobilizing business critical processes and freeing workforces to reach new levels of productivity."
About IBM
IBM is the world's leading e-business company offering a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that help businesses take full advantage of emerging innovation. IBM's pervasive computing and wireless strategy is to extend e-business applications to the new class of client devices. This involves building and implementing wireless applications, creating groundbreaking initiatives to set open industry standards; and deploying hundreds of wireless consultants. IBM has the ability to develop, integrate and deliver solutions to meet the requirements of Network Operators, Broadband Services Providers and municipal/regional government business and infrastructure requirements. IBM can be found on the Web at http://www-1.ibm.com/industries/wireless/ or contact us at wireless@uk.ibm.com
About Nokia
Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia is dedicated to enhancing people's lives and productivity by providing easy-to-use and secure products like mobile phones, and solutions for imaging, games, media, mobile network operators and businesses. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on five major exchanges.
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