Microsoft smartens up for enterprise mobility

Microsoft has announced it is smartening up its enterprise mobility strategy, making it easier for IT departments to deploy, manage and secure Windows Mobile phones while also streamlining business customer procurement of related software and services.

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The software giant has launched an update to its Windows Mobile OS - version 6.1 - which includes a new home-screen user interface, threaded SMS messages for at-a-glance text conversations and an updated Internet Explorer that enables users to zoom into portions of websites, and also supports Flash and Silverlight.

Microsoft also announced the launch of System Centre Mobile Device Manager (SCMDM) 2008 to enable businesses to offer more sophisticated mobile apps and features.

Microsoft also said it will be launching a support service offering called Microsoft Mobile Services Plan for business customers worldwide to further support enterprise mobility.

Scott Rockfield, group product manager for Windows Mobile, said: "System Centre Device Manager allows IT managers to manage, deploy, secure Windows Mobile phones just like they do desktop PCs - so using the same tools they've been familiar with for 15/20 years" - thereby reducing the cost of staff training, he said. "They can connect phones to active directory, send out group policies - all these things that IT managers have been asking to do with Windows Mobile phones."

Microsoft has talked up its vision of smart phones increasingly becoming multimode devices - used not just for work but also during after-office hours for socialising and personal entertainment. The advent of a Live Search plug-in for Windows Mobile 6.1 enables a range of location-savvy services so beloved of consumers, such as the ability to get directions to restaurants or find where particular films are being screened.

Back on the enterprise track, Scott said beta testers of SCMDM had asked for a simplified mobility offering in order to cut down on the number of vendors they have to deal with.

Microsoft's upcoming Mobile Services Plan aims to deliver this. The company is in talks with operators AT&T, O2, Orange, TaTa Teleservices and Verizon Wireless to offer a subscription-based service that will offer Windows Mobile customers a one-stop shop for support for enterprise apps and services, access to advanced mobile management features, and licences for Microsoft apps such as Office Mobile.

Scott said this will enable enterprises "to go to a mobile operator and get everything they need to get going on a business scenario for mobility".

Microsoft expects Windows Mobile 6.1 phones and operators supporting SCMDM to arrive this quarter.