Phone.com and Software.com plan merger to provide unified messaging

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by Lydia Lee

(IDG) -- Phone.com (PHCM) and Software (SWCM) .com, two software infrastructure companies, announced Wednesday that they plan to merge. The combined company would be worth $6.8 billion. Headed by former Cisco Executive VP Donald Listwin, the unified company -- unnamed as yet -- is poised to provide unified messaging.

The idea behind unified messaging is to offer customers one source for e-mail, voicemail and faxes. Companies such as Visto.com have made attempts at unification by providing the ability to check various e-mail accounts from one box. Others have piloted more-advanced services that enable customers to receive voicemail in the form of an e-mail, and dictate an e-mail message over the phone.

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"The concept of being able to access any kind of communication from multiple devices is something fundamental, but so far they've all been kind of clunky -- there hasn't been a carrier-grade solution based on the network itself," says Charles Gerlach, a director at the consulting firm Mainspring. "So the promise here is of a more elegant and reliable solution."

Though e-mail been a success for Japan's NTT DoCoMo's i-Mode service, some observers are skeptical about the breadth of unified messaging's appeal. "I'm not convinced that the prospect for universal messaging on one mailbox can handle all your needs," says Seamus McAteer, senior analyst at Jupiter Communications (JPTR).

But for wireless carriers, which now control a new entry point to the Internet, the prospect is enticing. Such carriers have the opportunity to be more than just a bit of pipe -- to do more than simply facilitate the flow of ones and zeros. Initially, they also can enable customers to receive and send e-mail from their phones. Down the line, they'll be able to offer additional messaging services -- helping them build sticky relationships with users.

Phone.com's specialty has been that it provides infrastructure to wireless carriers -- developing the WAP gateways that connect wireless networks with the Internet. Software.com's main business, on the other hand, is e-mail servers for service providers. Together, the two companies have the basic components for unified messaging.

However, the competition to provide gateway and application software to wireless carriers is intense. "Phone.com is going against some well-capitalized and profitable entities -- Nokia (NOK) and Ericsson," says Jupiter's McAteer. "It obviously felt that having more heft would help it to compete with software developers. And Software.com gets an entry into the wireless infrastructure space -- a space that everyone wants to play in. The combined entity will have its work cut out for it."

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Cisco exec to head offspring of Software.com, Phone.com
(The Industry Standard)
Cisco guns for call centers, unified messaging marts
(NetworkWorld Fusion)
Visto builds a one-stop in-box
(PC World.com)
Hot new e-mail device: The phone
(PC World.com)
Sun, Comverse in pact for unified messaging
(IDG.net)
App server enables carriers to deliver IP-based services faster
(NetworkWorld Fusion)
E-Business World
(IDG.net)

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