24th October - Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer was whipping up support for Windows Mobile in the enterprise space on Monday, unveiling a whole bunch of business offerings at the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment Summit in San Francisco.

The company announced a dedicated mobile device management server, Microsoft System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008, designed to help companies manage Windows Mobile phones in a similar fashion to Windows-based laptops and PCs.

The management suite allows companies to deliver new applications to phones over the air as well as connect people via a mobile VPN.

"People expect to be able to do more and more with their mobile phone," Ballmer said. "We're building on our expertise across servers, operating systems and services to deliver Windows Mobile experiences that bridge the things people want to do at work and at home."

Microsoft also announced a strategic alliance with Enterprise Mobile, a mobile enterprise service company, which will build, deploy and manage custom made Microsoft platforms for a variety of mobile operators and phone manufacturers.

"Mobility is the future of business," said Mort Rosenthal, CEO of Enterprise Mobile. "The Windows Mobile platform and System Center Mobile Device Manager, coupled with mobile operator and device maker partners, are the core elements of a strategic solution."