Over the last year the mobile middleware vendor has consolidated significantly, solutions from vendors such as Extended Systems (acquired by iAnywhere) and IntelliSync (acquired by Nokia) have or are no longer independent mobile middleware companies. I fully agree with David Ferris, who states that these ‘independent’ mobile middleware will disapear altogether, as they are either becoming part of a ‘bigger’ solution or will just seize to exist …
Microsoft Exchange, as of Exchange 2003, makes 3rd party tool for email / calendar / contact / tasks sync absolete.
… Third-party wireless email middleware will go away in a couple of years. Today’s solutions are a stopgap — in the future, the functionality will be incorporated into the email server.
Microsoft is already doing this with Exchange 2007 and has its sights directly aimed at the likes of RIM (makers of the BlackBerry).
Some vendors will go the standards-based route with their server products using push messaging and PIM standards such as P-IMAP, LEMONADE, SyncML, iCalendar, and CalDAV. …
Source : Ferris Blog
