IBM and Sprint to Extend the Sprint PCS Wireless Web to the Enterprise
Companies to Offer Mobile Computing Business Solutions and “Real Time” Wireless Access to Mission-Critical Data with Security and Reliability
KANSAS CITY, MO, & SOMERS, NY (December 01, 1999) – IBM and Sprint PCS (NYSE: PCS) today announced they plan to jointly develop and test a variety of wireless business applications and services for the mobile workforce. The new services, planned for early next year, will enable business people to use the Sprint PCS Wireless Web to clearly send and receive corporate email and access schedules, contacts and personalized corporate business applications in “real time” directly on Sprint PCS Internet-ready Phones.
IBM and Sprint PCS will focus on the secure, reliable and efficient delivery of business applications and transaction-based services to Sprint PCS Internet-ready Phones. By combining the clarity, connectivity and coverage of the nation’s largest all-digital, all-PCS wireless network from Sprint PCS with enterprise software and new hosting services from IBM, business customers will be able to use wireless phones to access most of the same corporate information they can today with a PC.
“Wireless technology is an extension of the Internet and the business case for deploying applications to wireless devices is compelling,” said Charles Levine, chief sales and marketing officer for Sprint PCS. “By collaborating with an industry leader like IBM, Sprint PCS is clearly taking the Wireless Web to the next level for our business customers. The enterprise computing solutions that IBM and Sprint PCS will bring to the table speak to the great need for clear, mobile access to any information, on any device, virtually anywhere, anytime.”
“Real-time data services will be the driving force increasing the use of wireless technology. Sprint PCS and IBM have complementary skills to make wireless access to mission-critical business information as secure and reliable as being directly connected to a corporate network,” said Mark Bregman, General Manager, IBM Pervasive Computing Division. “IBM is helping companies worldwide extend their enterprise applications to new types of devices. A robust wireless network, such as the one from Sprint PCS, combined with enterprise-strength software and new hosting services from IBM, are essential for businesses to deliver wireless data services to their customers.”
Source: IBM