Microsoft and Nokia have announced an alliance whereby Microsoft will produce business-grade applications for mobile productivity.

The agreement aims to take mobiles to the next level for professionals. Microsoft Office Mobile is one major software package that will arrive as well as Microsoft Business Communication software to Nokia’s Symbian mobiles.

This will ensure Nokia smartphones can really compete with BlackBerry, which is currently dominating the smartphone market. Robert Andersson from Nokia said “This is giving some of our competitors – lets spell it out, Research In Motion, a run for their money. I dont think BlackBery has seen this kind of competition we can provide them now.”

The alliance is the first of its kind for Microsoft which will see it develop applications for another platform.

The first devices to benefit from the alliance will be the Nokia e-series mobile range.

In the future the agreement aims to produce the following outcomes:

• The ability to view, edit, create and share Office documents on more devices in more places with mobile-optimized versions of Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft OneNote
• Enterprise instant messaging and presence, and optimized conferencing and collaboration experience with Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile
• Mobile access to intranet and extranet portals built on Microsoft SharePoint Server
• Enterprise device management with Microsoft System Center

Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop said: “With more than 200 million smartphone customers globally, Nokia is the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer and a natural partner for us. Today’s announcement will enable us to expand Microsoft Office Mobile to Nokia smartphone owners worldwide and allow them to collaborate on Office documents from anywhere, as part of our strategy to provide the best productivity experience across the PC, phone and browser.”