Gary, are you the Gary Smith of thestreet.com?
"PALM COMPUTING: France Telecom starts testing new wireless e-business service to the enterprise market with the help of IBM and Palm Computing; Companies to give e-businesses wireless access to critical information anytime, anywhere"
FEB 9, 2000, M2 Communications - France Telecom, one of the world's leading
telecommunications companies, today announced that in collaboration with IBM and
Palm Computing it will be offering a new wireless service for businesses that
will let France Telecom corporate customers access a variety of enterprise
applications, virtually anytime, anywhere.
France Telecom's collaboration with IBM's Pervasive Computing division and
3Com's Palm Computing means a new service that will allow business customers to
access corporate email, schedule planners, the Internet and industry-specific
applications whilst on the move.
France Telecom will roll the service out to business customers following its own
internal pilot, that has been led by IBM. IBM is providing the back-end hardware
and software infrastructure to enable this access - including IBM Netfinity
servers and software such as IBM Mobile Connect, IBM Mobile Net Connect and
Lotus Mobile Services for Domino - as well as additional systems integration
services to help France Telecom build and manage the service.
"Advancements in wireless communications have given us the perfect opportunity
to extend the reach of our business service portfolio in mobile-data," said
France Telecom "We are committed to giving business customers a mobile Internet
solution that will make today's mobile e-businesses strategies and remote
synchronisation truly dynamic."
The commercial service is set to go live the second half this year not only in
France but in Europe as well where France Telecom is present. In phase one of
the project, the service will include: local and remote wireless synchronisation
between end-user handheld computers and back-office email and agenda servers;
notification via Short Message Service (SMS) of new email and agenda items; and
online access to the Internet and remote access to specific industry
applications. In addition, the service will enable mobile workers to access
corporate and global web-based information directories while on the move, as
well as locally stored data resources.
"This announcement is another great example of the impact Pervasive Computing
technologies can have on everyday life for mobile professionals," said David
McKenzie, director of IBM's Pervasive Computing Division in Europe. "In
addition, this collaboration with IBM demonstrates that France Telecom is using
Pervasive Computing as a clear differentiator in today's Telco market - the
demand for wireless Internet access will continue to surge in 2000, and France
Telecom has now positioned itself at the leading edge of this new arena." France
Telecom's wireless e-business project will be extended in May to selected
corporate customers before the full service is launched to the open market in
second half 2000.
"The France Telecom application is an example of how important immediate and
constant access to enterprise data has become," said Neville Street, vice
president of International Business for Palm Computing. "Palm Computing plays a
critical role in delivery of this information in a convenient and reliable way".
Mang |
