Emcor Group Inc., a construction and building services company in Norwalk, Conn., has about 500 RIM users and deploys Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino server to 9,000 users, so Direct Push from Microsoft holds no interest, said Emcor CIO Joe Puglisi.

"We can't justify a total change in architecture just for remote mail," he said.

However, an IT manager who supports 220 attorneys and legal staff who use BlackBerry said the Microsoft advances are encouraging.

"Microsoft's entry into any technology arena ought to seriously scare competitors in that space," said Frank Gillman, director of technology at Allen Matkins LLP, a law firm in Los Angeles. "Companies heavily invested in the Microsoft Exchange environment will see this as a viable alternative for wireless e-mail. We would too."

John Starkweather, group product manager at Microsoft, said in a telephone interview yesterday that the advent of wireless e-mail via Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 and Windows Mobile 5.0 devices would vastly increase access to wireless e-mail.