Extended Systems in talks with BellSouth, TIM

US-based mobile infrastructure software developer Extended Systems (Nasdaq: XTND) is in talks this week to potentially land exclusive contracts with mobile operators TIM Brazil and BellSouth Chile, international sales manager Jason Piippo told BNamericas, adding that the contracts could arrive as soon as next week To date the company has sealed only one exclusive contract, but it is with the world's largest carrier, the UK's Vodafone Group (NYSE: VOD). Extended Systems' software allows employees of its customers to wirelessly access basic corporate applications such as corporate e-mail accounts or server-based business applications. The software runs on any mobile Internet-enabled device, whether laptop PCs, PDAs or 2.5G+ mobile phones. Piippo said the company plans boost sales in Latin America this fiscal year to 4% of total sales, compared to 2% last year, and so will be actively participating in tradeshow in the region, and working closely with its 17 Latin American distributors. IBM is currently Extended's main Latin America distributor, but could well transform into a formidable enemy if it decides to develop its own product, Piippo added. The main competitor today is Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), which in June this year unveiled software which links mobile phones to its popular Windows servers, he added. According to Piippo, Extended's competitive advantage against Microsoft is its eight years of experience in the segment. "We have been developing our solution for eight years, where as Microsoft only began a year ago." The company also develops tailored solutions for companies, in contrast to Microsoft's standard product. Regarding Latin America, Piippo said the region differs from the US in terms of what functionalities employees need when they are mobile, Piippo said, in showing higher demand for back-end applications, such as ERP and CRM, than for more basic applications, such as e-mail or calendar facilities. The peculiarity may reflect a Latin American cultural preference of face-to-face communication over e-mail. A major challenge to a quick adoption of mobile infrastructure software in Latin America is the relatively slow deployment of 2.5G+ mobile networks in the region, he added. Founded in 1984, Extended Systems has 280 employees and 3,000 clients worldwide in all business sectors. In its 2003 fiscal year ended July, the company posted US$29.6mn in gross revenues, with roughly US$592,000 coming from Latin America.