By Kim Yoo-chul
BARCELONA, Spain ― Samsung Electronics has signed a “big deal” with Microsoft (MS), whose details will soon be made public, a senior company official said Friday.
“We’ve sealed an agreement with MS. This is a big deal. We are going to make an announcement very soon,” Lee In-jong, senior executive vice president at Samsung Electronics, said at the 2015 Mobile World Congress (MWC).
The Samsung executive, who is also head of business-to-business (B2B) inside Samsung's handset division, also said the Galaxy S6 (GS 6) could be customized for corporate clients.
Mentioning Samsung's decision to use MS-patented mobile business systems such as the Office 365 program, the executive expressed confidence that the bilateral partnership will get stronger.
MS officials who talked with The Korea Times during the tech fair confirmed that the two companies were in talks to expand their partnership, focusing on B2B.
“Samsung and Microsoft are seeking to trim some minor differences before an announcement,” said one MS official, asking not to be identified as he was not authorized to talk with the media.
The official said he believes the renewed partnership could significantly benefit both, as Samsung would increase its position in the lucrative B2B segment, while MS will be able to have better market penetration for its Windows-based operating system.
“Also, this will help MS collect royalty payments from Samsung on a stable basis,” said another official claiming that this view was personal, not official.
The deal allows Samsung's corporate clients to use various Office programs if they purchase the new GS 6 as they are embedded.
Last month, the two companies agreed to end their patent disputes. Both Samsung and MS declined to comment about the details of the agreement at that time.
At the MWC, Samsung paid more attention to promoting B2B offerings, such as Samsung Pay and its upgraded KNOX security platform, to its existing and potential clients.
Lee said KNOX is powerful and the company does not see "any problems" that might lead to possible data theft in cases of hacking.
MS is a global leader in business platforms such as cloud computing.
While Samsung will rely on MS's programs to boost its place in the B2B arena, it is also diversifying its channels other than MS to hedge risks on a single partner.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Cisco Systems Chairman John Chambers in the United States and did not attend the MWC.
Officials say the Lee-Chambers meeting was aimed at making the KNOX platform stronger and for Cisco to purchase Samsung semiconductors and the latter to purchase the former’s corporate servers.
Such moves mean Samsung is apparently trying to cut its reliance on Google Android applications, at least in the B2B area. The Samsung Pay mobile payment system is a move the company to support this.
“If Samsung wants to remain as the strongest backer of Google Android even in the mobile payment system, then the Google Wallet is a good option as the Wallet is supported by major American mobile carriers. But Samsung Electronics is doing something different in the B2B area to create a new ecosystem that it could effectively handle. The MS-Samsung agreement, therefore, makes sense,” said an official.