Alcatel-Lucent Acquires OpenPlug, Expands the Application Ecosystem

In an attempt to limit the fragmentation of mobile platforms and broaden its reach in the applications space, Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert) announced early this morning that it has acquired OpenPlug, a mobile software and applications development tools vendor.

OpenPlug’s products are designed to allow developers to convert application code into software that can be integrated into the majority of mobile device operating systems.

Company officials said that through this acquisition, Alcatel-Lucent will be able to offer developers and service providers the ability to design applications that can be cleanly implemented into both smartphones and mass market devices without the need for customization. The agreement may soon permit consumers in the U.S. and overseas to access popular applications that would normally be exclusive to certain mobile devices.

Authorities with the Paris-based company believe the deal will level the playing field with Apple and Google (News - Alert) and provide individuals who rely on low-cost mobile phones with the benefits of smartphone technologies.

“Being able to provide more applications across multiple devices helps service providers

significantly broaden their app store content to create more value for consumers,” said Laura

Merling, vice president of Alcatel-Lucent’s global developer strategy, in a briefing this week.

“As service providers typically offer multiple mobile devices to their subscriber base, the OpenPlug software can help them reduce time to market by as much as 80 percent by allowing them to easily port an application to all of their devices,” she added.

The announcement comes just three months after Alcatel-Lucent acquired ProgrammableWeb, a provider of application programming interface-related (API) content.

Merling told TMC (News - Alert) that the two recent acquisitions are another step in Alcatel-Lucent’s applications enablement strategy. They also further the company’s attempts to remove the barriers of mobile platform fragmentation, which makes it extremely difficult and expensive for application developers to integrate their products into multiple devices.

Through the acquisition, Alcatel-Lucent will incorporate two of OpenPlug’s hallmark products – ELIPS Suite and ELIPS Studio – into its Developer Platform and Open API Service. The deal should facilitate the introduction of new applications into mass-market mobile devices in the near future.

Beecher Tuttle is a Web Editor for TMCnet. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. He received his bachelor's degree in English from the University of Colorado.

Edited by Beecher Tuttle