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Aug. 12, 2009

This afternoon, Nokia and Microsoft held a conference call to tell the world they inked a deal that will include a mobile version of Microsoft's Office on Nokia smartphones.

But executives from both companies were also quick to point out that the partnership is about tackling the whole enterprise segment in all its glory.

Kai Oistamo, executive v.p. of wireless devices at Nokia said "while today is important for both companies, we're only starting to scratch the surface."

"This is a lot more than placing Microsoft software on Nokia smartphones," said Oistamo.

"We are here to address the significant opportunity represented by the enterprise segment and this is what's all that matters to us at the present time," he added.

When asked if this was an effort to compete with Apple, Oistamo was direct: "it is way beyond just e-mail. Way beyond just Office. If any company should be worried about this, this is really about creating a formidable competitor for RIM (Research In Motion)" said Oaistamo.

Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft's enterprise division, also stressed the breadth of the partnership. "This is a much broader partnership than just Office. Really, it is."

Elop sketched plans for an Office-based mobile communicator that sounded similar in some of the features offered by Google's Voice, although a bit different.

Both Elop and Oistano said that their companies are committed to their respective platforms, Windows Mobile and Symbian, respectively, and would continue to compete against one another in the future.

When asked for a timeline for the products, Oistamo noted that Microsoft Exchange Server and Calendar are available now on the Nokia E-Series, but said that the first Office Mobile Communicator will be available on the E-Series in 2010, expanding reach to include more of the Nokia portfolio.

In the next coming weeks, it will be interesting to see if other and similar partnerships get done in the enterprise segment.

There's no question that this is a very big market for RIM, one that not only Nokia and Microsoft are interested in, but also big IT firms such as IBM, HP, Oracle and a few others.

We will continue to cover this segment very closely and we will keep you informed of any new developments.

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Source: Nokia & Microsoft.