The mobile telecoms provider Orange has launched a certification
programme to encourage business customers to deploy mobile
solutions.
Orange hope the move will give a boost to the mobile solutions
market, which is suffering from the economic downturn and
technological uncertainty.
"This is more than just a brand exercise, said Mike Crawshaw, head
of the Orange Consulting Group. "Each product that carries our
approval will have been tested both for compatibility with our
network and for the quality of the solution."
Orange has so far approved 80 products from the 450 participating
developers in its forum. "This is not an endorsement of the company
but of each product on its individual merit," said Crawshaw.
In addition to endorsing third party developments, Orange has also
pledged to support some products through its own marketing
channels.
The range of Orange-endorsed products includes hardware add-ons and
software applications for laptops, phones and PDAs.
Orange has pledged that users who have a major problem with an
Orange-endorsed solution will be able to seek help directly from
the company's official Web site.
Crawshaw admitted that widespread deployment of wireless
applications had been sluggish in the UK, particularly when
compared to the experiences of NTT DoCoMo in Japan, which has
nearly 20 million regular wireless application users. He maintained
that a range of reliable applications combined with faster data
transmission offerings - such as HSCSD and GPRS - would boost
adoption.
One of the latest recipients of the Orange endorsement is ImageBase
Technology. The 15-strong company, which specialises in image
management over wireless networks, has won a lucrative contract
with several police agencies in the UK and US.
Tim Schofield, managing director of ImageBase, said: "A lot of our
work comes from referrals and we expect the [Orange] endorsement to
help us generate additional sales because customers can ensure that
our technology has been rigidly tested by an independent third
party."
Wireless solution developers and customers can get more information
from
www.approved.orange.co.uk.