About 18 months ago, wireless e-commerce was the hot button touted by a host of Web integration companies. Although some players like Agency.com and Razorfish developed wireless solutions for customers on a pilot basis, the hype lost traction after the crash of the dot-com sector and as companies pulled back on IT spending.
But all the while, IBM has been working on wireless research through its Pervasive Computing Group unit and its European arm, which is neck deep in wireless. Last week, the company unleashed a broad offering of wireless products and services that will need the help of its partners to get off the ground.
The company's European arm will help design training courseware and will work on solutions for IBM's wireless strategy. The new Certified e-Business for Wireless training program within the PartnerWorld Program is expected to go live within 10 days, says Val Rahmani, general manager of Global Wireless Solutions. The formal certification process will kick into gear by Q3.
Forget the hype
"Last year, you saw a lot of hype [around wireless]; much of the initial hype has died down. For wireless, we need our top partner community," says Rahmani, adding that partners like Andersen, the firm formerly known as Arthur Andersen, is training about 3,000 consultants to build wireless solutions.
In calling on solutions providers to be part of its wireless strategy, IBM executives are looking for solutions that plug into its WebSphere Everyplace Suite. Executives last week announced a series of new wireless-enabled hardware and software along with new partnerships. The hardware includes dual antennas in the screens of its ThinkPad A series, which will have integrated support for 802.11 wireless LANs.
