Alcatel-Lucent goes cross-platform, big picture in latest developer move

Alcatel-Lucent took another left turn in its application enablement strategy, buying a small tool vendor that enables cross-platform development – with a long-term view of integrating APIs, services and other resources into this new mobile tool box.

The acquisition of OpenPlug is the latest in a string of moves on the development front by the traditional network and switch vendor. From delivering application enablement platformsto bundling operator APIs to buying a small Web API directory publisher and even publishing a book on the topic, Alcatel-Lucent is pulling out all stops to convince both operators and developers it’s a real player in the apps game.

OpenPlug’s ELIPS Studio lets developers build their mobile applications in an Adobe Flex-based environment and then deploy them to a variety of platforms, including iPhone, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile and more. It’s a write-once, publish-anywhere approach used with success in the past by Java and Flash developers, for instance.

Alcatel-Lucent said the OpenPlug toolset will be incorporated into its Developer Platform and Open API Service.

“The customers that developers and operators want to reach are on more than one device and one platform,” said Laura Merling, head of Alcatel-Lucent’s developer efforts. “That’s the biggest challenge facing developers, both enterprise and long-tail.”

The vendor’s plans for OpenPlug will only get more interesting, including enabling different styles of app development, building in its own API bundles and operator APIs into the tool and more. “In the last forty five days, all the RFPs we’ve seen from carriers say they need a capability for cross-platform development of apps. It’s really important to them.”