O2 extends remote email to SME market

The company said it would begin a trial next month that will see its email-on-the-move service extended to BlackBerry devices. It launched the service, which provides users with access to business email, calendar and contacts, on its xda handset several weeks ago.

O2 said that offering the service over BlackBerry devices would enable it to reach a wider audience. It is a stand-alone device that does not required a back-end server, making it ideally suited to the small business market, the company added.

It already provides a corporate BlackBerry email-on-the-move offering, and it is based on the success of this offering - the company claims to have sold 23,000 devices across the group and be the biggest provider of BlackBerry across Europe - that led it to launch a small business offering.

The trial will run in the UK initially, where 250 O2 customers will be given the device for two months, before being rolled out to other O2 territories.

O2 said it would target specific vertical sectors, including manufacturing, construction, business services, local government, wholesale and retail, with tailored mobile data services as part of its focus on the small business market.



"www.o2.co.uk ":http://www.o2.co.uk

"Email us about this story ":mailto:editorial@netimperative.com