American mobility system provider taking dead aim at Research in Motion

Intellisync, an American provider of data mobility systems for the enterprise market segment, has its sights set on stealing market share from Canada’s Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) with new software capabilities designed to go beyond mobile PIM and email applications. In a conference call with Report on Wireless last month, company executives explained that their latest product, Mobile Suite 6, is intended to give enterprise customers full access to corporate information even if they’re behind a firewall while on the road. The new capabilities go beyond offering wireless email and personal information management (PIM) capabilities, says David Shim Intellisync’s VP of product marketing. "Certainly email is where people are starting, but now even today enterprises are realizing they need to do a lot more if they really want to generate value from their mobile investments. They need to extend that to their sales and field service people in the field to their CRM (customer relationship management), ERP (enterprise resource planning) and other enterprise systems," he explains. There are four key components to the new Mobile Suite, which allows the company to offer enterprises, wireless operators and large enterprise software vendors a compelling solution to mobile data applications deployment. Key to Mobile Suite are the email accelerator, the data sync, file sync and systems management capabilities (see box for explanation of each component) offering support for a wide range of customer devices such as Palm OS, Pocket PC, Smartphone, Symbian, laptop/tablet PC client devices. The software also integrates with a variety of servers including Exchange, Domino, Group Wise, and others. The company works with the large enterprise software vendors such as PeopleSoft in targeting the large enterprise segment. It also works with wireless operators such as Verizon Wireless to allow smaller organizations to benefit from the same types of mobile data applications deployments. Shim explains that one of the key new features of Mobile Suite 6 is the XML capability that makes it easy for the enterprise to extend critical corporate data to mobile workers whereas there could be considerable time spent in device to backend development using current solutions. "With our out-of-the-box email client and capability with the XML Connector, the enterprise can recognize the value of mobility and do it very cost effectively," he says. Adds Intellisync’s VP product management Bill Jones: "The really neat thing we’re doing with the XML Connector is we’re leveraging the fact that many devices have calendar and contact applications on them already. It takes a lot of work, and we have the scars to show, to support the calendar and contact apps on a variety of devices. But what we’re doing through the XML Connector is enabling people who do a CRM application to effectively sync that CRM contact database down to all the different devices that we support." The two Intellisync executives say that RIM has opened the market for new players, but believe its singular device focus isn’t the right strategy. They say their greater device and backend server support will go a long way in providing Mobile Suite 6 traction in the marketplace. Jones says this is why Intellisync will have an advantage over RIM. "There’s going to be a big challenge for them (RIM) to span across devices where Intellisync has been from the very beginning. "I think it’s fair to say that RIM is obviously going to continue to enhance the support for their devices. Because they own both ends of the problem, they are going to be able to do some nice things. Whereas RIM’s success has been around the BlackBerry device itself, and it’s where they get 70% of their revenue, the challenge is going to be where an organization wants to pick up a Motorola, a Nokia, a Samsung or a Palm device…Even though RIM talks about being an open platform and other devices will be supported, they’ve got to deliver. And I believe that when they deliver, it’s going to be a fraction of the capability they are able to deliver on their own devices," he tells RoW. Despite RIM’s primary focus on its own BlackBerry device, there is little doubt that it is the leader in enterprise mobility deployments with more than a million devices deployed primarily throughout North America. But that could change with the emergence of competitors such as Intellisync, according to Gartner Inc. In a recent research brief, Gartner notes that pressure on RIM will likely come from Microsoft Corp. and Intellisync. Gartner notes that wireless email is a good starting point for enterprises looking for the benefits of improved productivity and workflow for on-the-go workers. "That will enable you to understand the benefits of communication and collaboration, particularly with out-of-sight workers, without having to manage a significant impact on business processes. This will provide lower risk and a smoother introduction to the complexities brought on by the deployment of mobile and wireless solutions, such as managing devices, security and mobile workers," reads the research note. But, says Gartner, if an enterprise wants to introduce a variety of enterprise mobility applications, Intellisync is a logical choice because it offers a multi-device approach and supports multiple backend servers. "With its full support for synchronization, mobile management and security, Intellisync is an appropriate choice if you plan to expand beyond wireless email in the short term," the Gartner research states. RIM isn’t sitting still, however, as it continues to expand the reach of its BlackBerry Connect program through agreements with device makers such as Nokia, Motorola, Palm and Siemens. In its second quarter results released on September 30, the company noted that it reached an agreement to introduce a BlackBerry enterprise server compatible with Novel Group Wise. It also highlighted an agreement to introduce BlackBerry Connect support for certain Motorola devices. The company has also stepped up its focus on increasing the number of units deployed, noted Gartner, since RIM receives recurring revenue on a per-device basis. When this activity is combined with recent development agreements, says Gartner, the future looks bright for the Waterloo ON-based firm. Mobile Suite 6 Components Email Accelerator: It provides wireless email and PIM capabilities on a true push basis from a wide range of backend servers such as Exchange and Domino, and to a wide range of different client devices such as Palm, Symbian, and others. Data Sync: This feature helps extend any enterprise data or application to mobile devices. File Sync: It extends any files or web project from the corporate intranet to mobile devices and mobile workers. This keeps them up to date wherever they are. Systems Management: It is a key component that helps the IT department manage the users and the devices, and provide support across all the applications.

American mobility system provider taking dead aim at Research in Motion

News | 11/04/2004 5:00 am EST

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