Wireless Exchange Synch Broadens

Motorola, Nokia, and PalmOne have all signed deals to license Microsoft’s Server ActiveSync protocol. This technology allows smart cell phones and wireless handheld computers to synchronize e-mail and personal information manager data, such as appointments and contacts, with Exchange 2003 servers, and until now came only on Microsoft’s Smartphone and Pocket PC Phone Edition devices running Windows Mobile 2002 and later. These deals will increase the number of devices that can perform over-the-air synchronization with Exchange, which could boost Exchange 2003 upgrades but may also lower the demand for Windows Mobile devices.

Details and Limits

The protocol licensing deals, all signed between Oct. 2004 and Feb. 2005, demonstrate that Microsoft does not plan to compete in the mobile space at the expense of other strategic products, such as Exchange. Furthermore, the deal occurs in the context of Microsoft’s settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, which obligated Microsoft to license certain protocols. While Server ActiveSync was not one of the protocols in question, the whole episode made Microsoft less likely to compete by restricting access to communications protocols.