Integra5 and Sybase 365 have partnered to let carriers extend their reach with the delivery of social, SMS-centric applications to multiple devices based on Integra5's new MediaFriends application suite.

By combining Integra5's ability to deliver converged communications across multiple devices with Sybase 365's mobile messaging technology, the partnership addresses today's evolving communications patterns and provides carriers with new opportunities to drive consumer data usage and increase SMS traffic.

"This is our introduction to the wireless world and the mobile ecosystem -- our partnership with Sybase is our entry into the mobile carrier market -- so it's an exciting time for us," said Meredith Flynn-Ripley, president/CEO of Integra5, Woburn, MA. "The strategy behind the partnership with Sybase 365 is adding new opportunities for carriers by creating and delivering converged communications experiences to TVs, PCs and mobile phones.

"We're adding SMS to the mix, creating SMS-specific opportunities and a social media platform using SMS and MMS," she said. "We're freeing up SMS from being limited to handsets, adding TVs and PCs to the mix, growing SMS traffic by adding these new endpoints into the SMS mix, as well as allowing operators to gain full control of mobile to PC and PC to mobile communications."

Integra5 specializes in delivering communication experiences across television, PCs, mobile and DECT phones.

Integra5 claims more than 40 deployments across seven countries, including Videotron in Canada, cable/telephony/broadband operators Knology, Wide Open West and Suddenlink in the United States and VTR Chile.

Sybase 365 is a subsidiary of Sybase Inc. that specializes in SMS, MMS and GRX mobile messaging and mobile commerce services. Processing more than 200 billion messages per year, Sybase 365 claims to reach more than 700 carriers and 3 billion subscribers worldwide.

According to the CTIA, SMS messaging grew to more than 75 billion per month in 2008, from 7.2 billion per month in 2005.

Deployed in a carrier's network, Integra5's platform is able to route SMS messages between the Sybase 365 mobile messaging platform and consumers' mobile phones, TVs, PCs and DECT phones.

While the partners won't sell mobile advertising on the platform, they are creating new advertising inventory within these services, so that carriers can take the platform and create business opportunities.

In addition to carriers, the partnership also targets video providers and programmers, enabling deployment of MediaFriends applications such as TV Chat with no wireless network requirements.

Integra5's MediaFriends is a new suite of social media applications that lets consumers participate in real-time group or one-on-one chats using mobile phones, TVs, PCs and DECT phones.

MediaFriends TV Chat delivers a social entertainment experience on the TV. Using a remote control, viewers can invite friends to watch TV programming together and engage in chats by sending text messages via their mobile phone and view the conversation directly on the TV.

"The interesting piece with the Integra5 platform is finding a way to move messaging to that next phase to make it ubiquitous whatever the carrier or device," said Greg Dunn, Reston, VA-based vice president of the Americas for Sybase 365. "A lot people sit in front of TVs and have laptops, so we're going to take messaging to that next step.

"Brands are increasing their market share and eyeballs using SMS to get consumers to take action by clicking through to a Web site or calling an 800 number, so we said ?Let's build another piece into that,' an ad-insertion piece into a much broader space," he said. "People are actually willing to take action when they see an SMS come through -- they will go to next click-though stage, go to a storefront and actually buy."