NTT DOCOMO has signed a multi-year agreement to license Red Bends full portfolio of mobile software management (MSM) solutions.
Red Bend says the agreement with DOCOMO marks a major milestone, in licensing its full portfolio of MSM solutions directly to a Tier 1 operator, and signals the acceleration of market adoption of mobile software management. Red Bend will provide DOCOMO with Red Bends vCurrent Mobile solution for updating firmware over-the-air (FOTA), vRapid Mobile solution for managing software components over-the-air (SCOTA) and its vDirect Mobile device management (DM) client.
DOCOMO is known for pioneering mobile communications networks and services, including voice, data and its credit card business. It serves more than 54 million customers and is the leading operator in Japan, with 51.3% market share as of December 2008. The success of i-mode, DOCOMOs mobile data service in Japan, has been expanded globally by operators seeking to leverage advanced technologies to provide practical and convenient mobile data services. Red Bend will have the ability to reach i-mode alliance partners as well.
Japans mobile consumers are the most demanding in the world, and look for personalised mobile devices that have the latest technology before they are available elsewhere, says Kazuhiro Abe, President of Red Bend Software Japan KK. With this comprehensive agreement, DOCOMO once again will lead the mobile industry in adopting innovative solutions like mobile software management. Red Bend will work closely to support DOCOMO, its manufacturers and alliance partners in adopting our MSM solutions to ensure their success.
Red Bend is the leading provider of FOTA and DM software to mobile phone manufacturers in Japan, including deals with Sharp, NEC, Kyocera and others. Red Bend first began providing FOTA software to DOCOMO subscribers in 2007. Red Bend says its MSM solutions enable customers to increase revenues, reduce support costs and achieve faster time to market of new mobile devices, applications and services.
Red Bends MSM solutions have shipped in more than 300 mobile device models reaching more than 500 million consumers worldwide. According to research firm Ovum, the company has a 60% share of new FOTA-enabled mobile phones. Red Bends MSM solutions can be integrated across mobile platforms, including Symbian OS, Android and real-time operating systems, and are interoperable with servers supporting Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA DM) standards.