While most current IM (instant messaging) customers are text-chatting with their buddies using services provided by MSN, AOL or Yahoo, Sprint has extended such conversations to applications on the corporate network, said Ken Kurz, a spokesperson for the operator's mobile computing services group.

Person-to-Application

Through natural language processing technology, Sprint is enabling access to business directories, inventory status and other information for mobile workers via such devices as cell phones and hybrid voice/data handhelds, as well as PCs.

"Person-to-application" messaging, or person-to-server messaging, has a wide range of possible applications, Kurz told NewsFactor. "For example, a field worker can type in 'What is Ken Kurz's phone number?' and will almost instantly receive the number as an instant message," he said. Or, a business user could request the inventory level for a specific product and get that information in the window.

Sprint's Universal Application Messaging offering is based on the company's carrier-grade Enterprise IM platform. Corporate IM users familiar with buddy or colleague lists can create a customized application control panel configured for their specific needs.

New Concept

The service targets the transportation, healthcare and financial services markets, Kurz said, and is applicable to all businesses requiring sales force automation or that have employees in the field.

Sprint appears to have gotten a head-start in the race to draw enterprise users to IM services. "This is a new concept," Aberdeen Group analyst Dana Gardner told NewsFactor. "They have gone beyond chat by enabling people to interact with mission-critical applications."

Businesses should be able to cut costs by automating standard operating procedures for the workforce while also delivering "instant satisfaction" to customers seeking information, said Gardner.

'Universal' Platform

"Most people already are familiar with instant messaging, and what Sprint has done is take it to a new level," Gardner added.

The Universal Application Messaging Platform supports IM text messaging on most advanced wireless networks and can be integrated into existing enterprise systems.

According to Kurz, it is available for Java-based cell phones (using Java 2 Micro Edition, or J2ME) as well as Palm OS-based handheld devices. A Microsoft Pocket PC version is expected early next year.

Total access to enterprise applications is based on an open-architecture mobile platform that includes point-to-point presence-based messaging, a managed e-mail application that combines wireline with wireless access to personal information data, and security through standard SSL encryption.