Sydney-based software developer, Open Systems Consulting (OSC), has announced an OEM partnership with mobility software house, Sybase.

At the core of OSC's product range is Tplus Mobile; a PDA application for use in the courier industry and other services where data must be sent and received in real-time. OSC managing director, Steven Green, said it had built its application using Sybase' development tool, PocketBuilder.

The partnership was expected to benefit both parties, he said. At its simplest level, the contract guarantees Sybase a license income, and enabled OSC to purchase Sybase's database at a lower fee.

But both Green and Sybase A/NZ director of channels and alliances, Steve Dolan, agreed the license fee and savings were only secondary benefits.

Green said partnering with Sybase would also add credibility to OSC's products, which he predicted would help when marketing to large companies.

"Sybase has a lot of exposure in the mobile workforce market," he said. "It's a win-win type of relationship where they can leverage off our skills and we can leverage off their products and exposure in the market."

Dolan said the agreement added to Sybase's development of mobility solutions partners. It also provided the company with opportunities to utilise its alliance relationships with a variety of mobile device vendors.

According to Sybase figures, application partners generate over half of total partner-based revenue.

"I think in the mobile world, customers are more interested in buying a pre-built solution from a vendor like OSC than buying the database from us and trying to build their own," Dolan said. "Our feeling is that OEM and application partners are going to be very important to our success."

Sybase currently has about 40 OEM partners and application resellers in A/NZ, and another 20 in various stages of partner development. Dolan expressed an interest in continuing to grow its partner base.