"This indicates Microsoft's strategic shift. And despite some amusing confusion with branding, Microsoft is no longer trying up sell Windows Mobile on the back of Exchange. It's trying to offer Windows Mobile as a part of a comprehensive device management solution.
Microsoft's new platform, called System Center Mobile Device Manager (OK, so it won't win any awards for creative naming), takes the emphasis off e-mail and puts in on three areas: device management, transport, and security. Guess what, these are areas that Microsoft can win in...
In short, Microsoft isn't trying to replace RIM. It's trying to recast mobile as an IT issue, not a carrier issue that IT managers pay others to manage for them.
It also shows that Microsoft is serious about winning the device management sector. Device agnostic mobility platforms like Sybase iAnywhere, Smith Micro, and Odyssey Software should be scared. Startups like Mformation should be really, really scared."
