Finland-based Smartphone Solutions, which offers a gamut of mobile solutions like push email, remote mobile device management services and consulting services to enterprises, is planning to set up a subsidiary in India by January.

The company said that the subsidiary is likely to come up in Delhi NCR and will provide technical and sales support for its local resellers. “For technical helpdesk today, they (resellers and customers) have to connect with our support staff in Finland; but we want to have a direct local interface,” Mr Veli Holm, President and CEO of the company told visiting journalists.

The company operates in India through its resellers – IT Soft Communications and Net4India, Mr Holm pointed out. Bharti Infratel is one of its customers.

In fact, only recently, Net4India announced its partnership with Smartphone Solutions to launch operator-independent push mail solutions in India. The service will support over 200 mobile devices across different platforms, including Symbian, Windows Mobile and Android.

Targeting the enterprise segment, the solution – SmartMail – will offer real-time access to emails, calendars, contacts and tasks on mobile devices.

“The Indian telecom market is getting more mature and at the same time, the smartphone prices are coming down… The market needs tools suited for these smart devices,” said that CEO of the Finnish company.

Incidentally, Finland is one of the global hotspots for innovation and R&D in the ICT industry.

Right from running smartcard pilot projects at airports that will, in future, allow transit passengers to get updated information on their connecting flights and departure gates to offering free workspace and connectivity to encourage entrepreneurship – ICT innovation is a part of day-today life in Finland.

The World Economic Forum has ranked Finland the third in the world in the Networked Readiness Index of its Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011. Finland has also embarked on “Broadband for all 2015,” a project that will ensure presence of optic fibre network or a cable network with 100 Mbps connectivity, within two km of all permanent residences and offices in the country, four years down the line.

(This correspondent travelled to Finland at the invitation of Finnfacts)

>moumita@thehindu.co.in

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