Sybase 365 will also deliver SMS-based messages to Western Union consumers who have opted-in to receive offers such as coupons, promotional codes and additional information on products and services.

"There are now more than four billion mobile phones in use," said Gail Galuppo, Executive VP and CMO for Western Union. "In select markets, we are already putting the power of Western Union in our consumers' hands by offering transactions via mobile phone. By furthering our agreement with Sybase 365, we are able to bring even more value to our consumers by notifying them that their funds have been received and by offering discounts and special offers directly on their mobile phones."

"Sybase 365 global mobile messaging reach and mobile commerce services allow enterprises to maximize the potential of the mobile economy," said Marty Beard, President, Sybase 365. "This service is a perfect example of how companies can leverage our multi-faceted offering to reach and engage customers effectively through the mobile device."

This agreement builds on an alliance with Western Union announced earlier this year, where Sybase 365 was selected to participate in Western Union's Digital Vendor Program with its mWallet and mBanking Platforms. Facilitating mobile finance initiatives in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, such programs will help build the mobile finance ecosystem benefitting enterprises and end-users.

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In addition to providing enterprises with multiple sites and business units with a cohesive way of managing company-issued and employee-owned devices, Afaria 6.5 now enables customers to manage various device types in hosted environments while maintaining centralized control.

"The enterprise mobility market is constantly evolving as organizations look for new ways to manage mobile deployments and the adoption of personally-owned devices continues to rise," said Willie Jow, VP of Mobility Marketing, Sybase. "We are meeting the industry demand to deliver the power of Afaria management and security to a larger audience through hosted managed services and support for the iPhone."

Sybase further noted that Afaria 6.5 now includes device identification and search enhancements, wipe and lock control options, and profile settings. The device security capabilities are also expanded through integrated antivirus and firewall components, new application control capabilities, Nokia device encryption, and an expanded Windows Mobile data security manager feature set.

Features of Afaria 6.5 Include:

-Multi-tenancy infrastructure and hosting options for management of multiple sites or tenants using a single server farm

-iPhone support with over-the-air provisioning, certificate-based policy enforcement and enforceable administrative policy lockdown control

-Application control to block (blacklist) or allow (whitelist) specific applications from being accessed by end users on Windows Mobile devices

-Data Security Manager enhancements including best-in-class Symbian data-at-rest encryption, increased complex password, and device lockdown capabilities

-Policy-based management model to increase administration ease of use

-Integrated antivirus and firewall features for improved security using a single connection

-Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA DM) terminal security and session control enhancements for clientless device management

Afaria 6.5 will be available in mid November.

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"It was most efficient for us to turn to Sybase 365 to manage the entire project and deploy all of the technologies," said Chris Causey, VP, Internet Banking Department BBVA Compass. "This new service helps BBVA Compass retain and attract new customers, providing another avenue of banking for users beyond visiting branches, calling by phone, or accessing accounts via the Internet."

With the deployment of the Sybase mBanking 365 iPhone application, BBVA Compass customers can now check balances, view posted and pending transactions, transfer funds between accounts, and interact securely with bank representatives, from the convenience of their iPhone.

Delivering connectivity across all mobile banking channels, including SMS, mobile browser and a downloadable mobile client, Sybase 365 is the only mobile banking provider that offers built-in global network connectivity by working with 800 mobile operators around the world to ensure customers can always access their banking information and services.

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Sybase said its new iPhone support includes components of its mobile platform. Afaria now provides enterprise device management and policy enforcement for iPhone. SQL Anywhere database and synchronization technology now brings a way to extend information in enterprise relational databases to line of business applications running on iPhone devices. To meet the demand of consumers for mobile banking solutions, the company announced availability of its mobile banking iPhone application through the Sybase mBanking 365 platform.

"While Apple has made significant progress in making the latest version of iPhone enterprise-ready, there are still a number of challenges in provisioning, management, security and application enablement," said Jack Gold, President of J.Gold Associates. "To achieve true enterprise-class capability, companies should deploy an open, third-party mobility platform capable of filling these gaps. Solutions like Sybase's mobility platform not only support companies looking to proactively deploy iPhones but also to respond to the growing population of information workers bringing personally-owned smartphones into the enterprise."

"The popularity of the iPhone and speed at which it has entered the workplace magnifies the challenges of managing and supporting the growing diversity of device types in the enterprise," said Mort Rosenthal, CEO of Enterprise Mobile, a mobility systems integrator and outsourcer.

Afaria 6.5 with iPhone support will be generally available in mid November.

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