San Francisco - Cognos said Monday that its Cognos 8 Go! Mobile business intelligence software now supports Windows Mobile 6 smartphones, as well as Nokia E- and N-series devices running S60 Third Edition on Symbian OS.
The software works with Cognos core BI platform and can automatically reformat reports for various types of devices.
The Canadian firm had already developed support for Research in Motions BlackBerry smartphones.
Cognos move to support more mobile platforms is logical, according to David OConnell, senior analyst with Nucleus Research in Wellesley, Mass.
"Theyre going mobile. Theyve been doing it for a while," OConnell said. "Basically, the more platforms you can put BI on, the more people you have adopting it, so theres more ROI."
Anastasia Valentine, product manager for Cognos, said the firm made the new clients in response to market interest. Customer interest in Windows Mobile 6 centered in the United States and the Asian-Pacific region, while European customers desired support for Nokia devices, she said.
While the new products are fine-tuned for each platform, they are identical feature-wise to the BlackBerry client, according to Valentine.
Support for one of this years hottest mobile devices, Apples iPhone, isnt yet on Cognos docket.
Despite the iPhones explosive popularity, its immediate value to enterprises has been questioned. Forrester Research recently issued a report listing reasons why IT departments shouldnt support it, at least for now. Those warnings include the devices lack of support for push e-mail and its cost, Forrester said.
Valentine said Cognos isnt seeing much customer demand for iPhone support, adding that the company is also keeping an eye on Googles Android mobile development platform.
A "starter pack" for Cognos mobile BI software, which includes a server-based license, licenses for 25 users and one year of support, costs $31,000, Valentine said.
