Symbian is installed on over 39 million data-enabled mobile phones, though it faces increasing competition from Microsoft in the mobile operating system space, as evidenced by Palm’s announcement this week that its forthcoming Treo handheld device will employ Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0.
Oracle said its support for Symbian OS will deliver the benefits of Oracle’s grid technology, including continuous data and application availability, from the enterprise to mobile workers. Oracle is a Symbian Platinum Partner and will distribute its mobile database alongside Symbian OS, enabling interoperability of data-enabled mobile phones with mobile networks, applications and services.
Together, the companies said they will be able to extend enterprise applications such as customer relationship management and sales force automation to the growing number of Symbian OS-based smartphones worldwide.
They said they are also working with leading mobile network operators and phone manufacturers including NTT DoCoMo, Motorola, and Nokia to deliver an integrated solution. Oracle Database Lite 10g Release 2 is already available on NTT’s DoCoMo Business FOMA M1000 environment, Motorola’s A1000 and phones based on both of Nokia’s Developer platforms, Series 60 and Series 80 such as Nokia’s 9300 and 6630.
Oracle said it is also working with independent software vendors such as NID-IS, Softbrain, and TENIK to deliver applications and tools required by businesses to support their mobile initiatives.
Oracle claims its Database Lite 10g Release 2 provides customers with a secure and reliable technology architecture with the scalability to support thousands of concurrent users. It enables persistent access to critical information and applications without requiring continuous connectivity to back-end enterprise systems.