Email boost for SyncML phones

Managers will be able to remotely wipe lost or stolen phones

SyncML vendor Synchronica will this week add push delivery to its wireless middleware server and introduce a new management tool to enable administrators to remotely wipe lost or stolen phone handsets. The firm said its products turn phones into a cost-effective alternative to the BlackBerry for mobile messaging.

Synchronica’s SyncML Gateway already supports wireless synchronisation of email, calendar, contacts and tasks between Microsoft’s Exchange Server and SyncML-enabled handsets, but version 2.1, to be unveiled at this week’s 3GSM show in Barcelona, enables push delivery of email. It also adds support for Sun’s SunJES messaging server, and Lotus Domino/Notes support is due in the second quarter of this year.

“We are opening up Exchange to over-the-air sync with non-Microsoft devices such as feature phones,” said Synchronica chief executive Carsten Brinkshulte.

SyncML is an open-standard synchronisation protocol governed by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), and is now more properly referred to as OMA DataSync. The standard is supported by the Symbian operating system, and so is built into many handsets from Nokia, Sony Ericsson and others.

Also to be announced at 3GSM is Mobile Manager, a new tool to enable IT administrators to remotely manage smartphones. It enables remote locking or wiping of handsets to guard sensitive information in the event of theft or loss, but also supports over-the-air auditing, configuration and provisioning of app- lications or data.

“You can remotely distribute applications and information to groups of users, such as a price list or a Q&A sheet to sales executives. You can also query devices, and de-install applications not approved by corporate policy,” said Brinkshulte.

Mobile Manager requires a software client on each handset. Although a SyncML standard exists for device management, this is “not yet at a level where it can do what Mobile Manager can do”, Brinkshulte said.

Another Synchronica product will be aimed at telecoms carriers and handset makers rather than other enterprises. SyncML DM Server supports over-the-air diagnostics and updates to handsets, and offers an automated hotline feature so users can get instant help.