European software solutions company SAP
announced Wednesday a partnership with Nokia Corp.
to extend its mySAP workplace to
WAP-enabled devices.
As a result of the partnership, SAP says it will be able to use
Nokia’s WAP technology with mySAP.com solutions for such applications
as customer relationship management, business intelligence and strategic
enterprise management.
Peter Zencke, executive board member, SAP AG, said that the deal would
provide customers of the mySAP.com service with more choices and flexibility
in how they access critical inter-enterprise data and applications.
“As part of the overall mySAP.com Mobile Workplace strategy, SAP is helping
its customers take advantage of Internet-enabled mobile computing
capabilities and wireless information management as quickly and productively
as possible,” said Zencke.
Initially, Nokia (NOK) and SAP (SAP) will offer solutions using the Nokia WAP Server,
7110 Series WAP-enabled phones and other devices to provide full access
to news feeds, stock quotes, e-commerce business directories and essential
enterprise information.
SAP plans to create a development infrastructure to produce new
WAP-enabled mySAP.com solutions. Its partners and customers will then
be able to develop mini-applications which they can deploy on mobile
devices.
As SAP points out, many workers in the Internet economy now
rely heavily on mobile phones and handheld computers, especially those
who spend a lot of time away from the office.
An open, global standard, WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) links
mobile devices to the Internet and enables such applications as
banking and Internet-based news services. A useful source of
information about WAP is
www.wapforum.com.