IBM, RIM Boost Lotus Support On BlackBerryIBM, RIM Boost Lotus Support On BlackBerry

BlackBerry users are already accustomed to receiving push corporate e-mail from Lotus Domino, but the companies will be letting workers have access to more collaboration and productivity Lotus software on the go.

"Team collaboration shouldn't stall when employees are on the road or away from their desk," said Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of RIM, in a statement. "RIM and IBM are strengthening the BlackBerry platform for Lotus with a portfolio of enterprise social networking and collaboration capabilities that will make BlackBerry smartphones even more effective in mobilizing businesses around the globe."

In the second quarter of this year, BlackBerry users will have mobile access to Open Document Format Lotus Symphony documents. The companies said mobile support for presentations and spreadsheets will be added at a later date. Enhanced functionality for Lotus Connections will be rolled out during the same time period, and it will include improvements to blogs, activities, and communities.

In the second half of 2009, mobile workers will be able to use their BlackBerry smartphones to access Lotus Quickr for collaborating on documents, photos, and videos.

"The new Lotus collaboration features and developers tools on the BlackBerry platform will deliver productivity beyond the office extending IBM software and services so that individuals can access all of the resources they need to keep their business moving, anytime, anywhere," said Bob Picciano, general manager for IBM Lotus Software, in a statement.

Developers will also be able to take advantage of the tighter integration, as the BlackBerry platform will support Lotus Domino Designer and XPages in the second half of the year.