In yet another move to help enterprises introduce wireless-based corporate services, Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia Corp. has forged a partnership with Fujitsu Ltd. of Japan.
Under the deal, Nokia will provide several higher-end handsets based on Symbian Ltd.’s operating system, while Fujitsu will offer systems integration, consulting and managed services, Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, said Monday in a statement.
The partnership with Fujitsu, based in Tokyo, follows similar deals with IBM Corp. and Oracle Corp.
At the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France, earlier this year, Oracle and Nokia launched a joint initiative to extend Oracle’s Collaboration Suite messaging application to Nokia phones, while IBM and Nokia announced plans to make Nokia handsets work with IBM’s WebSphere middleware and its new Wireless Enterprise Delivery Environment. Under the separate deals, Nokia’s handsets, including the 6800 messaging device, the 9210 Communicator and several phones running the Symbian operating system, will support both Oracle’s and IBM’s applications.
“While the IBM and Oracle deals are focused on providing mobile access to their software applications, the Fujitsu partnership is more generic in nature,” said Nokia spokesman Damian Stathonikos. “Fujitsu is not linking its service to any one particular software application or platform.”
All three deals, Stathonikos said, are part of Nokia’s strategy to help enterprises extend their in-house IT resources, such as e-mail, calendars and databases, to employees on the move.
Nokia and Fujitsu will collaborate in developing and providing not only these core enterprise applications but others, such as customized vertical applications and easy-to-use mobile terminal connectivity, according to the statement.
Service from the two companies is available in the U.K. and the Nordic region, and will be extended to other markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as the Asia Pacific region, beginning in early 2004, the statement said.
Hartwall Ltd., a Finnish brewery and soft drinks producer, has already implemented an enterprise mobility system developed with Fujitsu utilizing the Nokia 9201i Communicator, Nokia said.
The service allows truck drivers to enter goods flow information into their Nokia Communicators, while servicing customers on their delivery and pick-up routes. From the Communicators, the information is transferred to Hartwall’s business software system delivered by SAP AG.
While the brewery benefits from accelerated communication, reduced errors and no duplicated work, the truck drivers have better control over their own work, as the system enables them to report changes in deliveries and any packaging returned from customers, according to Hartwall sales and logistics director Ralf Hollm
