Nokia and Microsoft enter alliance for mobile productivity

Microsoft and Nokia have entered into an alliance to deliver enterprise-grade solution for mobile productivity. This is the first time that either company has embarked on an alliance of this scope and nature.

Microsoft business division president Stephen Elop and Nokia's executive vice president for devices, Kai Öistämö, announced the agreement, and outlined a shared vision for the future of mobile productivity.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will begin collaborating immediately on the design, development and marketing of productivity solutions for the mobile professional, bringing Microsoft Office Mobile and Microsoft business communications, collaboration and device management software to Nokia's Symbian devices. These solutions will be available for a broad range of Nokia smartphones starting with the company's business-optimized range, Nokia Eseries. The two companies will also market these solutions to businesses, carriers and individuals.

Both Microsoft and Nokia possess a rare combination of enterprise experience and consumer understanding and, in addition to the collaboration on existing software and services, will use these assets to jointly design a range of new user experiences for future Nokia devices. These experiences will be identified together, and will be created by dedicated teams inside both companies to better meet the growing needs of the mobile professional.

''With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world's largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us,'' said Elop.

''This arrangement 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.''