BEA and Nokia To Develop Wireless E-Commerce Server

E-commerce solutions provider BEA Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: BEAS) announced Thursday that it plans to work with Nokia to create a new standards-based solution for building wireless e-commerce applications.

The companies will integrate BEA’s WebLogic Server and Nokia’s WAP Server 1.0 products. The new solution will enable e-commerce developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) to generate transaction-oriented Web applications for wireless devices — including Nokia’s Internet-ready phones — that are compliant with the wireless application protocol (WAP).

“The e-generation accessing the wireless Web won’t be content with just downloading basic information such as stock quotes and news dispatches,” commented Joe Menard, president of BEA’s e-commerce server division.

“With BEA WebLogic Server as the engine of their WAP applications, they will have the same high-availability 24×7 access to personalized e-commerce services that they have on their PC browsers.”

On-the-Go E-Commerce

The integration of BEA and Nokia technologies will likely cover applications such as banking and financial services, order entry and confirmation, stock trading, and other text-based wireless transactions that can be conducted via a mobile phone or personal digital assistant (PDA).

BEA’s WebLogic Server enables developers to build transaction-based e-commerce applications using Java and the standard Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platform, including Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) components.

The Nokia WAP Server is an open server platform for mobile applications that lets companies create content that can be accessed by mobile devices that use a WAP browser. The product complies with the WAP 1.1 specification and utilizes the Wireless Transportation Layer Security (WTLS).

“This out-of-the-box integration makes it easy to quickly develop ‘on the go’ e-commerce applications by eliminating the need to build and debug an equivalent integration from the ground up — a task that could take weeks,” stated Menard. “Instead, developers can now implement the integration in just a few hours in most cases, making it possible for their companies to get to market much faster with applications that deliver a competitive advantage.”

WAP is an open, global specification that enables mobile users with wireless devices to instantly access information and services.

About BEA

BEA recently struck a distribution agreement with Sterling Software, Inc. (NYSE: SSW).

Under the terms of the arrangement, Sterling will bundle the WebLogic Server with its new COOL:Joe Java development environment. Sterling will also market and support WebLogic for development use.

The San Jose, California-based BEA Systems provides e-commerce transaction platforms along with consulting, education, and support services. The company’s solutions power such e-commerce titans as Amazon.com and E*TRADE.