August 12, 2009 By Chad Vander Veen
Microsoft and Nokia announced today the two technology firms have entered into an alliance to deliver Office Mobile software to smartphone users. The mobile version of Microsoft's venerated software, which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint, will be available to customers owning Nokia smartphones.
Finland-based Nokia remains the world's largest producer of mobile phones, despite recent upsurges by the RIM BlackBerry and the Apple iPhone.
"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 Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop at a joint press conference today.
Nokia smartphones with Office Mobile will begin shipping sometime after the new year, though exact dates weren't given.
The companies claim that once the smartphones hit the market, users will be able to view, edit and create documents in Office, Excel and PowerPoint. In addition, the smartphones will provide users mobile access to intranet and extranet portals built on Microsoft SharePoint Server.
"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 the office and home-office environment, and addressing the significant opportunity in mobile enterprise productivity," said Kai Öistämö, Nokia's executive vice president for devices.
This Digital Communities white paper highlights discussions with IT officials in four counties that have adopted shared services models. Our aim was to learn about the obstacles these governments have faced when it comes to shared services and what it takes to overcome those roadblocks. We also spoke with several members of the IT industry who have thought long and hard about these issues. The paper offers some best practices for shared government-to-government services, but also points out challenges that government and industry still must overcome before this model gains widespread adoption.
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