Nokia has announced that it is to buy Intellisync, a provider of wireless email software that competes with the likes of RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise Server software.

Mark Blowers, senior research analyst at Butler Group, told vnunet.com: "There is consolidation going on at the moment and a lot of the larger players are buying middleware providers, so this is understandable.

"I think that Nokia wants to be able to offer the whole solution and, although it has relationships with Microsoft and RIM, it is getting some functionality with Intellisync that neither of them can provide."

Mary McDowell, executive vice president and general manager at Nokia's Enterprise Solutions business group, said: "Enterprises face increasing challenges when it comes to selecting devices, enabling access to email and securing corporate data, while carriers are facing more and more complexity to support these demands.

"We want to make it simple for our business customers to mobilise their workforces no matter what their starting point."

Nokia recently launched Nokia Business Center, enabling push email and other collaborative business applications.

"Our combined teams will present the most compelling mobility offering to enterprises and carriers all over the world," said Woodson Hobbs, president and chief executive at Intellisync.

The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2006. Intellisync was founded in 1993 and has approximately 450 employees.