Nokia Helps WAP Extend to SAS

Nokia Networks Thursday added electronic intelligence specialist SAS
Institute to its extensive list of WAP-enabled clients.

For SAS, the agreement will help the firm speed up mobile deployment of its
solutions on Nokia’s vaunted WAP server. Wireless Application Protocol has
become the darling of mobile users in the past year or so: It is the
standard by which wireless devices and Internet applications work together.

The deal, for which financial details have not been disclosed, calls for a
30-day free trial of the Nokia WAP server to users who have SAS’ AppDev
Studio™. As it has done for most of these agreements, Nokia will offer
support and consultation services to server users.

Luis Leamus, vice president international of META Group, said the move will
help SAS, whose trick lies in turning raw data into usable information for
customers, extend end-user access to business applications.

“We believe SAS’ application architecture which separates the information
distribution level from the application code, should facilitate the support
of multiple front-end interaction channels,” Leamus said.

Ultimately, mobile and traditional device users will have access to
analytical applications, SAS hopes.

More than 33,000 sites use some form of SAS’ software, all of which
contributed to the large private firm’s billion-dollar revenue total in
1999.

Moving further on the international scale, Nokia, widely-acknowledged as the
top seller of mobile phones, Thursday also hailed
companies ABB, Bovis Lend Lease, MKI and Wireless Facilities Inc. as its
main partners for turnkey implementation of 3G and
GSM networks in the Europe, Middle East and Africa areas.

As with most of Nokia’s solutions, its 3G and GSM networks aim for optimum
speed in content delivery. 3G stands for third generation of mobile
communications and it aims to help people access digital information —
music, photos, video and television — on the go.