Microsoft Embraces Nokia's Symbian OS

Microsoft and Nokia announced a broad alliance Wednesday under which the two companies will work together to optimize Microsoft applications, including the Office productivity suite, for use on Nokia's mobile devices.

The agreement calls for the mobile version of Microsoft Office to run on Nokia's open source Symbian operating system—not Redmond's own Windows Mobile OS.

The first line of Nokia phones to be covered under the pact is the business-oriented Eseries. Microsoft and Nokia will also co-develop mobile middleware and other tools, including Exchange ActiveSync, to help businesses integrate Nokia mobile devices into their Microsoft enterprise computer networks.

Nokia also plans to ship Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile on its phones starting in 2010.

"With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us," said Stephen Elop, president of Microsoft's Business Division, in a statement.

"Today's announcement will enable us to expand Microsoft Office Mobile to Nokia smartphone owners worldwide and allow them to collaborate on Office documents from anywhere, as part of our strategy to provide the best productivity experience across the PC, phone, and browser," said Elop.

The move indicates Microsoft may have concluded it's not likely to make inroads against Symbian in the worldwide mobile OS market and that its best chance of boosting Office Mobile sales is to partner with the industry leader.

Symbian owns about half the worldwide mobile OS market, while Windows Mobile controls less than 10%, according to the most recent numbers from research group Gartner.

Nokia, already a 48% stakeholder in Symbian Ltd at the time, last year bought out the remaining shares from several telecom partners for $410 million and placed the Symbian OS into the hands of the open source movement under the royalty-free Eclipse Public License.

Wednesday's deal gives Nokia a chance to position itself as an innovator in the mobile business market and challenge entrenched incumbent Research In Motion, whose Blackberry platform is the preferred device for road warriors and other professionals.

"If you are going to provide a seamless and integrated productivity experience on a mobile device, Microsoft is an ideal partner," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's executive VP for Devices, in a statement.

"Together with Microsoft, we will develop new and innovative user experiences for employees of small and large businesses alike, ensuring Nokia's smartphones are an integral part of of the office and home-office environment, and addressing the significant opportunity in mobile enterprise productivity," said Oistamo.

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