SUN is INTO WIRELESS AS WELL!
Palm, Inc., Sun Microsystems and iPlanet(TM) Plan
to Develop End-to-End Enterprise Wireless Solution
Secure, Easy Access to Enterprise Applications and Services Anytime, Anywhere, Via Palm OS(R)Handheld Computers
NEW ORLEANS,Palm, Inc., a 3Com company(Nasdaq: COMS Sun Microsystems,Inc.(Nasdaq: SUNW )and iPlanet(TM) E-Commerce Solutions, a Sun-Netscape Alliance today announced plans to develop an end-to-end solution that will provide global wireless access to enterprise applications and services via Palm OS© handheld computers.
The solution will help enable mobile professionals to access their corporate applications and data more easily and securely -- anytime, anywhere. Sun, Palm and iPlanet plan to jointly market the new solution to enterprise and service provider customers worldwide.
As part of the proposed solution, iPlanet plans to add support for Palm's Web clipping architecture and Palm OS handhelds to its new iPlanet Wireless Server software, enabling corporate users to access their enterprise data through Palm's Palm.Net(TM) wireless service.
In addition, Sun and iPlanet Professional Services, in conjunction with Palm, intend to architect and deploy the enterprise wireless solution worldwide. Palm and Sun have signed a non-binding Letter of Intent regarding this
proposed relationship that is subject to further negotiation and the closing of a definitive agreement.
Simple wireless access to information housed in corporate data centers can change the way mobile professionals do business.For example, a sales representative could retrieve critical real-time pricing and availability information for a customer, and allocate inventory once an order is closed. This wireless solution would improve a company's customer service and could streamline their internal sales, manufacturing and financial processes.
"Palm is keenly interested in continuing to develop dependable and secure ways for key enterprise applications to be extended to Palm OS handhelds,' says Alan Kessler, President of Palm, Inc.
"We are very excited about the combination of the
Palm.Net service with Sun and iPlanet solutions. This solution will pave the way for mobile professionals to access critical enterprise applications, such as e-mail and group calendaring, wirelessly from Palm OS products."
"As a leader in the handheld computing space, Palm is a critical partner in helping Sun realize its vision of anytime, anywhere computing," said Ed Zander, president and COO, Sun Microsystems.
"With the explosive growth of the wireless market, Sun wants to ensure that our customers have access to their enterprise data via their device of choice. The alliance with Palm marks a key step towards creating a rich, reliable wireless access solution for the Internet and the enterprise."
"The need for wireless access to information will explode over the next few years as mobile professionals demand wire-line like access to information," said Mark Tolliver, president of iPlanet E-Commerce Solutions.
"Palm, Sun and iPlanet each offer a critical component that enterprise and service providers need to meet this growing demand. In the end, the mobile professional will have access to a robust suite of services and these services will be made possible because of the close working relationship between Palm, Sun and iPlanet.'
Palm Computing, Sun and iPlanet plan to market the enterprise wireless solution aggressively to their enterprise customers, as well as to Internet and Application Service Providers. Upon development and deployment of the solution, iPlanet intends to market its applications as Palm ready, while Palm intends to market its Palm.Net services as iPlanet ready.
Palm is also evaluating the SunTone(SM) Certification and Branding program and will explore SunTone Certification for the new wireless services offered by the Palm.Net service. Certification under the SunTone program would make Palm eligible to participate in additional go-to-market initiatives from Sun -- including cooperative marketing, financing and consulting -- that are supported by several thousand of Sun's sales, service and marketing personnel worldwide.
About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc., a 3Com company, is the leading provider of personal companion products (IDC, May 1999), including the
best-selling Palm III(TM), Palm V(TM) and Palm VII(TM) series of handheld computers. The Palm Computing© platform is the premier handheld development environment and is the foundation for the market-leading handheld computers from Palm as well as products from Palm's strategic partners such as IBM, Franklin Covey, Handspring and Symbol Technologies.
Designed to support the increasingly mobile and geographically dispersed nature of information management, the company's handheld solutions allow people to carry their most critical information in their pockets.
For more information, please visit www.palm.com.
About 3Com Corporation
With over 300 million customer connections worldwide, 3Com Corporation connects more people and organizations to
information and each other in more innovative, simple and reliable ways than any other networking company. 3Com delivers e-Networking solutions through information access products and network systems to enterprises, small businesses, consumers,and service providers. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at www.3com.com or the press site at
www.3com.com/pressbox. |
