The Hindu Business Line : Airtel ties up with Microsoft to offer MS Office on mobile

MUTUAL GAINS: Mr Manoj Kohli (right), President, Bharti Airtel, and Mr Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India, at the launch of Windows Mobile 5.0 technology in the Capital on Monday. - Kamal Narang

New Delhi , Aug 21

Bharti Airtel on Monday announced a strategic tie up with Microsoft that will enable mobile users to access to a range of Microsoft Office applications and other multimedia products on their mobile phones.

Through the tie-up, Airtel subscribers will benefit from Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0, which will enable access to MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Internet Explorer), multi media functionalities such as camera, MP3 and video recording and a host of business applications.

The service will be available to Airtel customers on the latest HP I-Paq and I-Mate handsets only.

The move is aimed at enterprise and SME customers across India.

Mr Manoj Kohli, President, Bharti Airtel Ltd, said, "Our partnership with Microsoft reinforces and strengthens our commitment to innovation. This is a great beginning for the two leaders in the industry to come together and forge a strategic partnership with a single-minded focus of providing value to the end-user. It has always been our aim to be a step ahead of customer expectation and this alliance will further help us achieve this objective and consolidate our leadership position."

Elaborating on Microsoft's value proposition for customers, Mr Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India, said, "The launch of Windows Mobile 5.0 is in line with our stated vision of creating People Ready Businesses. Microsoft believes that people are the most critical asset of any business and empowering them with the right software is an imperative to deliver greater business value.

Bharti Airtel is the 115th mobile operator globally and the first in India to offer the Windows Mobile solution worldwide. This tie-up gives Airtel the opportunity to tap into the estimated 4 million SME market share in India.

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