Finnish wireless leader Nokia extended
its hand to the far west of the U.S. Tuesday when it teamed with Siebel Systems Inc. to offer Wireless
Application Protocol solutions to corporate clients.
Financial details were not disclosed.
E-commerce software leader Siebel has enlisted Nokia’s WAP Server for use
with its own highly-touted e-business applications suite to help Siebel’s
customers go mobile with respected wireless technology. Applications in the
suite that will benefit from the mobile push include sales, field service,
eChannel, and industry applications.
The agreement between the two companies encompasses joint development and
solutions engineering, worldwide marketing, and field sales training. The
companies will jointly package end-to-end mobile solutions for deploying
wireless implementations.
Paul Wahl, president and chief operating officer for Siebel Systems, said
Nokia’s brand, quality and level of security were all factors for picking
the Finnish outfit.
Supported by all operating systems, WAP is a secure specification that
allows users to access information instantly via handheld wireless devices
such as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, smartphones and
communicators.
The Nokia WAP Server is the world’s most-recognized WAP-server for the
corporate market. The company is the leading mobile phone supplier and a
leading supplier of mobile, fixed and IP networks, related services as well
as multimedia terminals.
Siebel’s play comes perhaps in answer to a wireless deal brokered by major
rival SAP in August. SAP, a strong customer
relationship management competitor, signed on Abaco PR Inc. to utilize Abaco’s Varadero
Wireless Framework as a preferred partner platform for providing middle-tier
mobile business solutions to customers of SAP and mySAP.com™.
Siebel Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Siebel talked about his
firm’s head-to-head battle with SAP last week. Siebel said that while SAP is
a “great, great company” and the largest provider of enterprise software,
their market is only growing at a 4 to 5 percent annual compound rate while
Siebel is growing at a 54 percent compound rate.
Siebel said his company’s strength is in customer service provisions, which
will enable Siebel to overtake SAP in the next four or five quarters as the
larger enterprise software firm.
Investors seem to think so, too, as Siebel’s stock has soared 15 percent in
the past week. UBS Warburg analyst Ken Carey Tuesday labeled Siebel’s stock at a “buy” rating of $135 per share. Carey pegged the
giant as having “excellent long-term growth potential.”
