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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - EDGE IN SYNC TECHNOLOGY (by Chandra Devi)
20 July 2004 – Subang Jaya, With users demanding up-to-date information on mobile devices from smartphones, laptops to personal digital assistants (PDAs) mobile enterprises and wireless carriers need to provide a way to synchronise data across the various platforms.
Synchronisation of data in mobile devices is an increasingly critical issue, sayd Masanari Arai, vice president of US-base Intellisync Corporation, as not only the number of mobile device users are growing but also the type of devices and their functions. This technology, according to him, is widely misunderstood and with advancement and changes in technology, synchronising data has become a cumbersome task.
The ability to synchronise data, he says, has been further hindered by various sets of proprietary protocols, each functioning with only a few specific devices, systems and data types. "Synchronisation is the nuts and bolts that allow mobilisation to take place. Synchronisation is how we get all of the technologies working together to achieve mobility. However, with the growing number of devices, each with their own platforms, operating systems and connections, its quite a task for enterprises to integrate mobile devices seamlessly with desktops, servers, and back-office applications and databases. They have to deal with various technologies, synchronisation applications and possible incompatibilities," Arai states.
The Intellisync Advantage
Intellisync which provides organisations with a suite of software products and services that synchronises and distributes information, says Arai, has the answers to these challenges faced by mobile enterprises and wireless carriers. The company, he informs, has a wide range of synchronisation solution from desktop, mobile suite to server, and is currently the leader with 90 per cent market share among PC-to-PDA synchronisation software sold through the US retail channel.
The company's award-winning Intellisync synchronisation software, he claims has a presence in more than half of the Fortune 1000, has been licensed by more than 200 software developers, device manufacturers, and online services such as America Online, Credit Agricole, Domino's Pizza, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Microsoft, NTT DoCoMo, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Pfizer, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Yahoo!
Say Arai, the company's ability to provide for a diverse spectrum of users and meet new and emerging synchronisation and workforce-mobility requirements, has been further enabled by acquisitions of companies. These acquisitions have enabled it to offer diverse new customer solutions, including phone synchronisation, secure remote access, mobile infrastructure, and business and carrier-grade server products.
Last year alone, the company acquired major players in the synchronisation technology market such as Synchrologic, Spontaneous Technology, Loudfire Inc and Starfish Software. These acquisitions, says Arai, brought with it leading enterprise-grade synchronisation and mobile infrastructure solutions, new capabilities in the areas of security and wireless application delivery, enhancements for remote access to critical personal and business information and new carrier-grade synchronization technology.
"When we started out in 1993, our focus was in the synchronisation of personal information management (PIM) data with wired PDA devices. Now, our capabilities have evolved to support synchronisation of critical data such as e-mail, corporate databases and personal networks on a wide range of wired and wireless devices, including mobile phones," explains Arai.
Today Intellisync holds 64 patents in synchronisation to address various technology needs.
Market Potential
Besides US, the company, say Arai, has an operation in Japan, and sales offices in Korea and Europe. In Malaysia, Intellisync has partnered with Optegra Sdn Bhd, a mobile CRM solutions provider, to offer cost-effective synchronisation technology and expand market reach.
He believes, there is a huge market potential for synchronisation technology with the growing number of handphones and wireless PDAs sold in this part of the region.
"As the applications and databases for these devices grow, each device will require synchronisation solutions. There is a multi-billion dollar opportunity in the hand phone and enterprise application markets and we are well-positioned to capture a big market share," adds Arai.
The company's vision, he says, is to see its technology being used across all devices and plans to work with mobile operators and phone manufacturers towards this.
SYNCHRONISATION TECHNOLOGY IN SIMPLE TERMS
Though synchronisation is an integral part of the mobility landscape today, it is a widely misunderstood technology. Seow Kien Peng, head of sales, Optegra Sdn Bhd, helps explains technology in simple terms.
Business Computing: What is synchronisation technology? Seow: In serial data transaction, a synchronisation is a method of ensuring that the receiving end can recognise characters in the order in which the transmitting end sends them, and can know where one character ends and the next begins.
Without synchronisation, the receiving end will perceive data simply as a series of binary digits with no relation to one another. Synchronous communication relies on a clocking mechanism to synchronise the signals between the sending and receiving machines.
In simpler terms, synchronisation technology is the sending and receiving of data between two databases to match the changes that have occurred during their independent existence. During their independent state, each database can be modified or changed, making each database unique on its own. When the synchronisation kicks in, the uniqueness between the two databases are combined and replicated, thus making each other look identical again. This process repeats itself.
BC: How does it apply to mobile applications? Seow: Mobile devices carry small amounts of data and have limited processing capabilities. When you have existing legacy enterprise systems, how do you extend such information out to users with smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) or laptops?
When you have a disparity between processing power, limited space and not being able to connect to your back-end enterprise systems 99 per cent of the time, then there will be a need to synchronise data between the server and mobile user.
When the mobile device is detached from the server and deprives it of the processing power and data it needs, these mobile devices would continue to function. That is the beauty of synchronisation. Unlike a regular connection, when you disconnect from the host, you are unable to function. Your basic Web site browsing fits this description.
So, you have all these mobile devices - smartphones, PDAs laptops - outside your enterprise and they are hungry for corporate information. How do you provide them access to the pool of information without compromising on security and information theft? The answer lies in synchronisation solutions.
BC: What are the solutions available? Seow: Basically, there are server to mobile device, server to server, and email server to telco synchronisation. Server to mobile device synchronises multiple mobile clients to one or more servers which can be easily synchronised without recreating high-end specialised software.
The email server telco synchronisation allows for your corporate email such as Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes to be accessed by any mobile device without information technology expertise.
In Malaysia, most email on mobile phones are hogged down by expensive general packet radio service (GPRS) charges and have no link to Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes collaboration tools. "Push email" is non-existent at this moment.
Copyright © The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad, Balai Berita 31, Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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