Microsoft, VSNL tie up for email services
Economic Times — April 11, 2007

VSNL International, the international arm of Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL), has partnered with Microsoft to offer email service to mobile network operators (MNOs) worldwide.

This hosted Microsoft Exchange solution - ReadyAccess - will enable MNOs to offer their customers "a superior quality end-to-end business messaging and collaboration solution with added push email connectivity in a cost-effective and expedited manner," a statement said.

VSNL is also the first global provider to bring this collaboration service to enterprise customers in India in alliance with Microsoft. The service will compete with Research in Motion's BlackBerry and Nokia's Intellisync Mobile Suite, which offers real-time email, calendar and contacts service.

It will also compete with e-mail service from Good Technologies, a developer of mobile messaging and collaboration tools that was recently acquired by Motorola. ReadyAccess provides MNO end-users with a single point messaging and collaboration service, accessible both on PC/laptop and mobile devices with added push mail connectivity.

Customer mailboxes are provided under a common optimised and secure infrastructure that includes email security applications, servers, storage and connectivity. "Going beyond push email services, MNOs can now offer critical enterprise messaging solutions bundled with data services on a subscription basis, thus gaining significant customer loyalty," VSNL International MD Vinod Kumar said.

"It supports multiple service packages, providing flexibility to support MNO market segmentation strategies and their customers' changing needs," the company said. Besides, ReadyAccess also provides MNOs with a messaging solution requiring no need for upfront capital and operational costs. This accelerates time to market and also gives them access to VSNL International's global data centres and service delivery infrastructure.