IBM and RIM unveiled Lotus collaboration software and developer tools on the Blackberry platform. The move is intended to bring collective intelligence to BlackBerry smartphones.

“The new Lotus collaboration features and developer tools on the BlackBerry platform will deliver productivity beyond the office, extending IBM software and services so that individuals can access all of the resources they need to keep business moving, anytime, anywhere,” stated Bob Picciano, general manager of IBM Lotus Software.

The changes signal another strategic move by BlackBerry as the competition of ultra-functional smartphones continues. The new software and tools include mobile access to Lotus symphony documents, mobile access to Lotus Quickr Web 2.0-based software and enhanced IBM Lotus connections functionality for access to activities, blogs and communities in order to augment the access already available to profiles and tags. 

Additionally, IBM Lotus Notes and Domino and IBM Lotus Sametime unified communications and collaboration software, which has worked on the BlackBerry platform for several years, is now also compatible with the BlackBerry Storm. The companies recently made a new presence and awareness-everywhere feature available on the BlackBerry.