Survey: IT Executives Cutting Budgets and Consolidating Assets in '08.

"Based on 27 interviews with CIOs and other senior IT leaders, [IDC] said that many IT organizations already are reducing their spending for 2008, with more than half of the executives citing existing negative impact on the budgets from the economy."

Mformation Delivers Enhancement to Platform for Management of Devices and Services over WiMAX.

"Mformation is commercially deploying MFORMATION SERVICE MANAGER™ for WiMAX to a number of customers, to provide seamless all-IP device management and remote activation capabilities... For a first-class experience, mobile users require that their devices be managed in the same way, regardless of whether they are connected to an all-IP WiMAX network or a cellular network (including CDMA, CDMA 2000, GSM, GPRS, UMTS, WCDMA, HSPA). Regardless of what network their subscribers are using at any given point in time, service providers still need to configure services, remotely activate users, get a real-time view of devices, distribute and update applications and firmware, secure devices and data and monitor service availability and performance."

For Businesses, Device Management Still Rocket Science.

"After hearing a presentation... one exasperated IT director asked, 'So you're telling me I have to figure out what type of device every one of my employees is using, who their carrier is, and what they're running on it?' (He didn't say it, but the thought bubble above his head clearly read, 'Fuhgeddaboutit.')"

Bitfone OTA Apps Re-Appear as HP.

"Bitfone’s former FusionDM application is now called Mobile Management Center, but the Bitfone mProve client retains its name... A new component is the Enterprise Mobility Suite, which lets companies use some traditional carrier and handset tools without having to subscribe to anything.

The enterprise product can be used for tracking mobile assets, configuring and troubleshooting devices, security and policy management, Yang said. HP may include these functions with certain enterprise models of its iPaq brand of handhelds – but the company will still support the traditional OTA market as well, he added.

Another new feature is the ability to integrate the OTA software with third-party applications... and the wireless connections can work on Wi-Fi, WiMAX or ordinary cellular links...

Currently, the software is available for Windows Mobile and Symbian devices."

Microsoft launches Live Mesh.

overview: Windows Live Dev : Introducing Live Mesh
also see: The Ozzie Memo: Software is Dead, Long Live the Web

also see: Confused by Mesh? It’s Simple: Microsoft Just Changed the Game
"Live Mesh has four components:

• Unified Device Management - your devices report into a common service for status, health, or to report their location
• Unified Data Management - transparent synchronization of files, folders, documents & media plus the bi-directional synchronization of arbitrary feeds of all kinds across your devices and the web
• Unified Application Management- centralized web-based deployment of apps across your devices
• Centralized Management - configure and personalize your devices and get remote access to them from anywhere...

Customers will ultimately license applications to their mesh, as opposed to an instantiation of Windows, Mac or a mobile account or a web site. Such applications will be seamlessly installed and run from their mesh and application settings persisted across their mesh."

also see: Microsoft Dreams of a Live Mesh
Quoting Ray Ozzie: "Just imagine the possibilities enabled by centralized configuration and personalization and remote control of all your devices from just about anywhere. Just imagine the convenience of unified data management, the transparent synchronization of files, folders, documents, and media. The bi-directional synchronization of arbitrary feeds of all kinds across your devices and the Web, a kind of universal file synch."

also see: Microsoft’s Mesh Revealed—Sync All Apps And All Files To All Devices
"At launch, it may not seem like much more than a combination of Windows Live SkyDrive and FolderShare, but under the hood it is an ambitious platform play. Mesh is really aimed at developers. Not only does it provide a framework for syncing files between devices, it can also sync applications. The way it does this is by using a two-way RSS or Atom feed developed by Ozzie called FeedSync, formerly called Simple Sharing Extensions.

The basic foundation of Mesh is this feed-centric programming model. A Web developer can build an app using any programming language or tools he likes (Python, Ruby on Rails, Flex) and then sync it across devices and other applications using two-way feeds as the basic data and communication channel. The promise for developers, says product unit manager Abhay Parasnis: 'If you Mesh-enable your application, we will let you extend it to other devices.'"

Sybase iAnywhere Introduces Comprehensive Management And Security For Symbian Devices.

"Appealing to the mixed device environments of many global organizations, companies can leverage Afaria to manage and secure a range of mobile devices based on Windows Mobile, Palm and now Symbian handhelds, and Windows laptops...

Security capabilities for Symbian OS v9 include:

• Enforced Power-On password
• Administrator defined password format requirements
• Password expiration
• Device lockdown after exceeding allowed password attempts

Mobile management capabilities for Symbian OS v9 include:

• OTA software distribution
• Data backup and restore
• Hardware and software inventory collection
• Software license management
• Custom scripting component for automating electronic file distribution, file and directory management, program execution and notifications."

Red Bend Receives $10 Million in Funding to Meet Market Demand for Mobile Software Management.

"Red Bend Software... today announced that it has secured $10 million in funding to fuel the company’s expansion into the mobile and machine-to-machine (M2M) markets... Red Bend will use the new funds for sales and marketing to grow its position in the mobile market as well as seize new opportunities in licensing its software for other connected wireless devices such as mobile broadband PC cards, USB modems, embedded chipsets and M2M modules."

Mobile Device Management Services - a $20 Billion Opportunity by 2013.

"In a recent report from ABI Research, mobile device management (MDM) services are forecast to grow from $583 million in 2007 to over $20 billion by 2013, for a compound annual growth rate of 80%.

Mobile device management services include policy development, procurement and asset management, billing audit and reconciliation, enhanced customer care, device/content security, and additional services that are vertical- and occupation-specific."

also see: Mega-growth forecast for mobile device management
"According to ABI the game-changer is the MDM platform which it says is slowly evolving with more and more capabilities for MDM services. The MDM platform sets out to systemetise and automate device management processes and can be employed by many players in the current MDM chain."

Motorola invests in multiple mobile OS technology.

"Motorola has joined previous investors Intel, Cisco and Texas Instruments by backing virtualization start-up VirtualLogix, which enables handset makers to use two operating systems on one handset. While virtualization could feasibly allow a user to toggle between say Windows Mobile 6 and Google's Android, it can also help secure a phone by running one OS that controls the basic functions and another one that lets the end user customize. That way, newly downloaded applications and services cannot affect the integral applications."

A bridge with a nervous system.

"Researchers want to build in to bridges, airplanes, and other large structures a type of nervous system that, among other things, would detect any defects such as cracks or rust, and relay that to a central computer that could tell engineers and repair workers what needed to be fixed. This Structural Health Monitoring (SMH) system would use ultrasound waves travelling through really teeny, tiny fibers embedded into the material to detect any potential dangers."

WiMAX Supporters Try To Suppress Case Study About WiBRO Troubles.

"The publication argues that by turning a blind eye to the simple realities of KT's difficult launch, the WiMAX community is setting itself up for repeat disappointment rather than being able to learn from it."

Nationwide cellphone alert system in the works.

"Federal regulators as early as Wednesday are expected to take a major step toward development of a nationwide emergency alert system that would send text messages to cellphones and other mobile devices wherever a crisis occurs... The network is expected to be up and running by 2010... Under the planned system, a county, state or federal first responder would send an alert to a still-to-be-determined federal agency that would serve as a clearinghouse. That agency then would relay the alert to participating wireless carriers.

The messages would be broadcast on a single pathway to many users in the affected region, like a radio signal, avoiding the congestion that now afflicts such warnings. Few cellphones today can receive such messages, but most will be able to in three to five years... Consumers with compliant phones would receive alerts unless they opt out."

Wadaro, monitoring mobile network and services performance.

"This is the problem Wadaro addresses, monitoring network and service performance from the phone. It's embedded software on the phone, from a simple SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) application to a sophisticated OS (Operating System) application. At the lowest end it just monitors the phone state when a call terminates, so its impact on the phone is not perceptible to the user, and it enables an operator to make its existing phone portfolio become part of the network, service and usage monitoring... With Wadaro when the customer calls the support team, the CSR (Customer Service Representative) can know the phone model without asking the customer. Even if the customer has purchased their own unlocked phone elsewhere, the operator can still know the make, model and its performance history. Next, the operator can proactively identify and remedy errors."

Affinity-Based MVNO Service Sonopia To Close Down.

"Sonopia, an affinity-based MVNO service founded by Juha Christensen and launched just a year ago, is closing down, reports Tapio Anttila on his blog, who himself was a former senior exec at Sonopia... Thus continues the blackhole of deceased MVNO services in U.S."

Good aims to manage all enterprise mobile devices.

"Enterprises don't want to have to use two different management systems to support mobile devices in the warehouse and smartphones for executives, and so Good Technology, with sister company Symbol, plans to offer products that can support all types of mobile devices... Since Motorola acquired Good last year, Good has been working on ways to combine its enterprise e-mail offering with products from Symbol, which was also acquired by Motorola in 2007."

Microsoft takes big step in managing enterprise handhelds.

"[Microsoft] also said that a handful of mobile carriers are preparing subscription service plans for enterprise customers, built around MDM. The carriers will offer simplified licensing for the application, one-call tech support, and an optimized network connection for subscriber devices... The new mobile operator services being built around MDM are due out later this year from various cellular carriers, including in the U.S., AT&T and Verizon Wireless. According to Traynor, the implementations of these 'Mobile Services Plans' will simplify mobile deployments by giving enterprises a single locus for MDM client licensing, device purchase, support and maintenance, and a guarantee of a high-quality network connection for mobile users."

700 MHz winners reveal plans, no big surprises yet.

"Verizon Wireless executives this morning assured investors their $9.36 billion investment in C-block spectrum will provide a long-term foundation for Verizon's business. Specifically, the company said that this year it will be conducting field trials of LTE...

Meanwhile AT&T, which spent $6.6 billion in the 700 MHz auction for B-block licenses, will also deploy LTE...

Meanwhile Qualcomm, which spent a total of $558.1 million on E- and B-block licenses, said that it will use its licenses to enhance its MediaFLO broadcast TV service."

Mixed Signals on WiMax at CTIA.

Stacey Higginbotham at GigaOM: "In filtering through the myriad of WiMax announcements at CTIA, I’m coming away with the feeling that the market for this technology isn’t going to be anywhere near as big as everyone had initially hoped."

Motive and Red Bend Help Operators Overcome Barriers to Mobile and Converged Service Delivery.

"Motive and Red Bend have collaborated to ensure interoperability between their respective service and software management solutions, giving operators end-to-end visibility and control over the entire mobile service delivery chain – from the consumer device to the back-office and network core."

Microsoft updates Windows Mobile, IE Mobile.

"Windows Mobile 6.1 will also support System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, which is now available for any business. Microsoft introduced Mobile Device Manager 2008 in October last year but at the time it was available only to a limited number of testers.

Mobile Device Manager is server software that enterprises can use to remotely manage and secure Windows Mobile phones much the same way that they may do for laptops.

Microsoft also planned to announce the Microsoft Mobile Services Plan, an offering from mobile operators for enterprises that includes mobile management services. Microsoft expected to announce operators that will offer the plan on Tuesday."

Siemens and Airbiquity Form M2M Alliance.

"Siemens has signed a global licensing agreement with wireless data communications software provider Airbiquity for its machine-to-machine (M2M) data communications software."