Openwave And Verisign Team To Drive Advanced Mobile Messaging Community
VeriSign To Provide Service Bureau for Openwave Mobile Instant Messaging
Openwave Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: OPWV), the worldwide leader of open IP-based communication infrastructure software and applications, and VeriSign Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of digital trust services, today announced that they will collaborate to drive adoption of advanced mobile messaging services. The collaboration calls for VeriSign to host Openwave's SMS-enabled Mobile Instant Messaging solution for carriers as a service bureau offering. Additionally, VeriSign and Openwave will work together to provide their mutual customers with a tightly integrated solution for inter-carrier messaging (ICM). This solution includes the Openwave(tm) Mobile Messaging Gateway (MMG) in the carrier network as the gateway to the VeriSign Metcalf Global Messaging (Metcalf GM) ICM service that VeriSign has deployed with MobileSpring, for delivery of SMS messages outside of the originating carrier network.
Openwave and VeriSign expect these messaging solutions to be compelling and popular with carriers and their users worldwide.
Benefits include:
Carrier Benefits
* Accelerate SMS and Mobile Instant Messaging adoption and usage in the Americas. As seen in Europe, inter-carrier messaging communities have proven to be the critical catalysts of highly profitable mobile messaging services.
* Provide operators with a service bureau implementation of their own branded, highly scalable and interoperable Mobile Instant Messaging service, along with a low-risk, pay-as-you-grow model from a proven leader in service
bureau offerings for operators.
* Provide a proven end-to-end solution to intelligently route, consolidate, track and deliver a growing volume of SMS messages over the more cost-effective IP network, both within and between different operator networks.
User Benefits
* Make it possible to address short text messages to other users by simply using their mobile phone numbers or their buddy names, ignoring previous barriers between different operators.
* Enhance the SMS experience by adding instant messaging features like presence-enabled buddy lists that provide users with information on the availability of their online "buddies."
* Provide for the upgraded experience of full instant messaging through WAP, native mobile client and PC interfaces, in addition to SMS.
"There are currently around 30 billion SMS text messages and 30 billion Internet instant messages sent monthly. Today's announcement helps to bridge the gap between these two huge and important communities: SMS and the Internet," said Andrew MacFarlane, vice president, messaging, Openwave Systems Inc. "VeriSign's scalability and secure service capabilities and Openwave's advanced messaging portfolio will provide carriers with the right
combination of technology to deliver open, flexible mobile communications services to both consumer and business users."
"While businesses and consumers already recognize the productivity benefits of SMS and instant messaging, we have only scratched the surface in adoption of these services," said Terry Kremian, executive vice president-telecommunications, VeriSign. "With Openwave's best-in-class Mobile Instant Messaging software and our experience in providing world-class services to some of the world's largest mobile operators, we can offer a tremendous opportunity for operators to grow their data services revenue with little or no capital investment. Operator-branded messaging services are critical in reducing churn and increasing subscriber stickiness."
The end-to-end SMS solution provided by Openwave and VeriSign supports interconnection between Openwave's MMG and VeriSign's Metcalf GM inter-carrier messaging service, based on application technology from VeriSign's partner, MobileSpring, a leader in wireless messaging. Openwave and VeriSign intend to cooperate to ensure that the MMG and the Metcalf GM service are optimized for one another in a way that allows for support of advanced end-to-end user features, including confirmed delivery, validity periods and urgency indicators.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) is the leading provider of digital trust services that enable everyone, everywhere to engage in commerce and communications with confidence. VeriSign's digital trust services create a trusted environment through four core offerings - Web presence services, security services, payment services, and telecommunications services - powered by a global infrastructure that manages more than five billion network connections and transactions a day. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com
VeriSign, a global leader in shaping the way people work and use the Internet, expanded its business into telecommunications through the acquisitions of Illuminet and H.O. Systems. This combines VeriSign's Internet infrastructure with Illuminet's SS7 signaling network and H.O. Systems' billing and customer care solutions, enabling VeriSign to deliver an end-to-end suite of telecommunications services that meet carriers' needs for growth, customer retention and revenue generation today. In the future, this infrastructure and expertise positions VeriSign in a leading role to deliver the promise of convergence of voice and data networks.
About Openwave
Openwave Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: OPWV) is the worldwide leader of open IP-based communication infrastructure software and applications. Openwave is a global company headquartered in Redwood City, California. For more information, please visit www.openwave.com <http://www.openwave.com>.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others: VeriSign's limited operating history under its current business structure; the risk that the VeriSign and its acquired businesses will not be integrated successfully and unanticipated costs of such integration; uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results; failure of the combined company to retain and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees; failure of the combined company to manage its growth and the difficulty of successfully managing a larger, more geographically dispersed organization; failure of the combined company to successfully manage relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic customers; network outages, network capacity constraints or security breaches; failure of the combined company's customers to accept new services or to continue using the products and services of the combined company; and competition in the various markets serviced by the combined company. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
This release contains forward-looking statements relating to expectations, plans or prospects for Openwave Systems Inc. that are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of Openwave's management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. In particular, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: (a) the ability to realize our strategic objectives by taking advantage of market opportunities in the Americas, Europe including the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific region; (b) the ability to make changes in business strategy, development plans and product offerings to respond to the needs of our current, new and potential customers, suppliers and strategic partners; (c) risks associated with the development and licensing of software generally, including potential delays in software development and technical difficulties that may be encountered in the development or use of the Company's software; (d) the ability to successfully partner with other companies; (e) competition and technological changes and developments; (f) general risks of the Internet and wireless and wireline telecommunications sectors; and (g) the uncertain economic and political climate in the United States and throughout the rest of the world and the potential that such climate may deteriorate further.
For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements, please refer to the risk factors discussed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including but not limited to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2001 and the Company's quarterly reports on form 10Q for the quarters ended September 30, 2001 and December 31, 2001. All documents also are available through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov <javascript:openExtLink('http://www.sec.gov')> or from Openwave's Web site at www.openwave.com. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this document.
# # #
VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign, Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Openwave, the Openwave logo and Services OS are trademarks of Openwave Systems Inc. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
Openwave and VeriSign expect these messaging solutions to be compelling and popular with carriers and their users worldwide.
Benefits include:
Carrier Benefits
* Accelerate SMS and Mobile Instant Messaging adoption and usage in the Americas. As seen in Europe, inter-carrier messaging communities have proven to be the critical catalysts of highly profitable mobile messaging services.
* Provide operators with a service bureau implementation of their own branded, highly scalable and interoperable Mobile Instant Messaging service, along with a low-risk, pay-as-you-grow model from a proven leader in service
bureau offerings for operators.
* Provide a proven end-to-end solution to intelligently route, consolidate, track and deliver a growing volume of SMS messages over the more cost-effective IP network, both within and between different operator networks.
User Benefits
* Make it possible to address short text messages to other users by simply using their mobile phone numbers or their buddy names, ignoring previous barriers between different operators.
* Enhance the SMS experience by adding instant messaging features like presence-enabled buddy lists that provide users with information on the availability of their online "buddies."
* Provide for the upgraded experience of full instant messaging through WAP, native mobile client and PC interfaces, in addition to SMS.
"There are currently around 30 billion SMS text messages and 30 billion Internet instant messages sent monthly. Today's announcement helps to bridge the gap between these two huge and important communities: SMS and the Internet," said Andrew MacFarlane, vice president, messaging, Openwave Systems Inc. "VeriSign's scalability and secure service capabilities and Openwave's advanced messaging portfolio will provide carriers with the right
combination of technology to deliver open, flexible mobile communications services to both consumer and business users."
"While businesses and consumers already recognize the productivity benefits of SMS and instant messaging, we have only scratched the surface in adoption of these services," said Terry Kremian, executive vice president-telecommunications, VeriSign. "With Openwave's best-in-class Mobile Instant Messaging software and our experience in providing world-class services to some of the world's largest mobile operators, we can offer a tremendous opportunity for operators to grow their data services revenue with little or no capital investment. Operator-branded messaging services are critical in reducing churn and increasing subscriber stickiness."
The end-to-end SMS solution provided by Openwave and VeriSign supports interconnection between Openwave's MMG and VeriSign's Metcalf GM inter-carrier messaging service, based on application technology from VeriSign's partner, MobileSpring, a leader in wireless messaging. Openwave and VeriSign intend to cooperate to ensure that the MMG and the Metcalf GM service are optimized for one another in a way that allows for support of advanced end-to-end user features, including confirmed delivery, validity periods and urgency indicators.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN) is the leading provider of digital trust services that enable everyone, everywhere to engage in commerce and communications with confidence. VeriSign's digital trust services create a trusted environment through four core offerings - Web presence services, security services, payment services, and telecommunications services - powered by a global infrastructure that manages more than five billion network connections and transactions a day. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com
VeriSign, a global leader in shaping the way people work and use the Internet, expanded its business into telecommunications through the acquisitions of Illuminet and H.O. Systems. This combines VeriSign's Internet infrastructure with Illuminet's SS7 signaling network and H.O. Systems' billing and customer care solutions, enabling VeriSign to deliver an end-to-end suite of telecommunications services that meet carriers' needs for growth, customer retention and revenue generation today. In the future, this infrastructure and expertise positions VeriSign in a leading role to deliver the promise of convergence of voice and data networks.
About Openwave
Openwave Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: OPWV) is the worldwide leader of open IP-based communication infrastructure software and applications. Openwave is a global company headquartered in Redwood City, California. For more information, please visit www.openwave.com <http://www.openwave.com>.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others: VeriSign's limited operating history under its current business structure; the risk that the VeriSign and its acquired businesses will not be integrated successfully and unanticipated costs of such integration; uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results; failure of the combined company to retain and hire key executives, technical personnel and other employees; failure of the combined company to manage its growth and the difficulty of successfully managing a larger, more geographically dispersed organization; failure of the combined company to successfully manage relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic customers; network outages, network capacity constraints or security breaches; failure of the combined company's customers to accept new services or to continue using the products and services of the combined company; and competition in the various markets serviced by the combined company. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
This release contains forward-looking statements relating to expectations, plans or prospects for Openwave Systems Inc. that are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of Openwave's management and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. In particular, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: (a) the ability to realize our strategic objectives by taking advantage of market opportunities in the Americas, Europe including the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific region; (b) the ability to make changes in business strategy, development plans and product offerings to respond to the needs of our current, new and potential customers, suppliers and strategic partners; (c) risks associated with the development and licensing of software generally, including potential delays in software development and technical difficulties that may be encountered in the development or use of the Company's software; (d) the ability to successfully partner with other companies; (e) competition and technological changes and developments; (f) general risks of the Internet and wireless and wireline telecommunications sectors; and (g) the uncertain economic and political climate in the United States and throughout the rest of the world and the potential that such climate may deteriorate further.
For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements, please refer to the risk factors discussed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including but not limited to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2001 and the Company's quarterly reports on form 10Q for the quarters ended September 30, 2001 and December 31, 2001. All documents also are available through the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov <javascript:openExtLink('http://www.sec.gov')> or from Openwave's Web site at www.openwave.com. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this document.
# # #
VeriSign is a registered trademark of VeriSign, Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Openwave, the Openwave logo and Services OS are trademarks of Openwave Systems Inc. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
