Ottawa Business Journal

The 800-pound gorilla of software is about to take on the 800-pound gorilla of mobile e-mail and data.

Microsoft will take dead aim at Research in Motion's popular BlackBerry e-mail pager when it introduces its own real-time mobile messaging system this fall.

Microsoft's new offering will deliver e-mails to mobile devices at speeds comparable to RIM's technology, at a lower cost, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told a conference in Orlando, Fl.

One of the key differences of the technology from RIM's is that businesses already using Microsoft e-mail software won't need to buy additional software or servers.

Microsoft insiders have already dubbed their latest platform the "BlackBerry Killer" and are claiming it will make portable e-mail a tool for everyone, rather than just the business elite.

Microsoft can also take advantage of its huge base of corporate customers to get the platform into the hands of users.

RIM, which virtually invented mobile e-mail, had been expecting the announcement and played down its significance. RIM points out that it has established partnerships with about 100 of the leading global phone companies and is adding new partners every quarter. The company also questioned Microsoft's claim that its service will be cheaper than the BlackBerry.