Cingular, Tech Data Team On Wireless E-Mail Solution

Cingular will look to Tech Data to promote to its legion of solution providers a wireless handheld device and behind-the-firewall e-mail server from Research In Motion.

In addition to distributing the hardware and software, Tech Data also will facilitate product activation on the Cingular Mobitex network, said Mike Bennett, Cingular's director of indirect reseller channels. While he declined to detail the specifics of how Tech Data will handle activation on behalf of solution providers, Bennett told CRN that the two companies are working together to find "a somewhat seamless experience for the end user and the agent partner."

Tech Data had signaled its intent to provide wireless products and activation services to its partners in an April interview with CRN. At that time, a Tech Data executive confirmed that the distributor had been talking with virtually all of the North American wireless carriers to secure the rights to resell activations.

Tech Data has said its wireless plans range from acting as a wireless agent for carriers to negotiating roaming agreements between carriers to provide better nationwide coverage capabilities for large corporations.

Tech Data executives were unavailable for comment Thursday.

Bennett said Cingular has inked an additional direct agreement with CDW Computer Centers, Vernon Hills, Ill., and is looking to bring on other solution providers with experience in back-end integration. "We recognize that the solutions we are talking about are integrated into a company's infrastructure," Bennett said. "As a result we are looking for partners who have experience in that area."

Cingular also is selling BlackBerry products, and Bennett said solution providers that sign on as agents will be able to offer both solutions to their customers.

The carrier is offering solution providers a one-time commission for activations that will average about $100 per user, according to Bennett. Agents also will earn a margin of about 30 points on the Good Technology solution, he added.

Cingular is the latest carrier to bump up its presence in the wireless e-mail market. In June, Wireless Knowledge teamed with Nextel to offer a wireless e-mail solution that costs Nextel customers $5 per user on top of an existing wireless data plan. Microsoft and Handspring have added their own programs to woo the channel.

Dan Rime, marketing manager at mobile integrator CDCE, Yorba Linda, Calif., said wireless e-mail is a perfect first step for companies interested in implementing mobile services for their employees. Corporate executives understand e-mail and its value, Rime said. Once they see the performance benefits of adding wireless e-mail, other back-end applications will surely follow, he added.

"People are doing [mobile e-mail now, but the next step is application integration," Rime said. CDCE has brought on seven new salespeople this week to meet increased interest in mobile solutions, he added.

Indeed, Stephen Drake, an analyst with IDC, said wireless e-mail is resonating with customers right now.

"The problem wireless e-mail solves from a business perspective is understood by corporate executives," Drake said. "Sometimes it is a little more complicated to understand the complete value of other mobile solutions."

Easier installation and enticing price points are driving interest in the e-mail applications, he said.

Research firm IDC is projecting that mobile middleware applications, including wireless e-mail, will grow from $227 million in 2001 to $1.7 billion in 2006, a compound annual growth rate of 50 percent.