Hot Wireless Features: Service And SupportHot Wireless Features: Service And Support

There are nearly 100 wireless middleware application providers worldwide, and all of them offer services that provide access to business applications and content via mobile devices. With so many companies to choose from, IT managers are starting to look for something special to differentiate one supplier from another. That special ingredient may be service and support.

Eastman Chemical Co. wanted to offer its employees and customers wireless access to its Web site and systems. It decided to use BlueMoon 2.5 from Airtuit, formerly known as Phone Online Inc. Released last Friday, BlueMoon 2.5 consists of a Studio Rapid Application Development tool that allows users to create wireless applications using Java, and an Application Server that uses XML to connect to company data systems.

BlueMoon 2.5 enables Eastman Chemical customers to access its Web site over a wireless device, and gives employees access to Microsoft Exchange data, including E-mail, calendar information, and phone lists. In the future, the company also plans to link the system to its SAP R3 network, which will give customers access to their accounts and provide purchasing employees with mobile access to chemical auctions. But those features were not necessarily what attracted Eastman Chemical to Airtuit's system.

"It wasn't that they had some special unique features," say David Hrivnak, principle emerging digital technology analyst for Kingsport, Tenn., company. A lot of vendors offered similar technology but the level of service offered by Airtuit got Eastman Chemical's attention, he says. Airtuit's ability "to stick to a schedule, and deliver things they said they would--it impressed us," says Hrivnak.

With so many vendors to choose from, it's not surprising that companies are going the extra mile for customers, according to analysts. "Every middleware product has the same pitch: any content through any network through any device. And they all work the same way," says Craig Mathias, principle with Farpoint Group. "So you would expect that things like service and support will become differentiators over time."

IT managers should also look for strong financial outlooks from potential providers and a plan for the future, says Ken Dulaney, VP of mobile computing for Gartner. "You can see a scenario where the company is going to fold into something else at some point, so look for partnerships with strong middleware partners," Dulaney advises. "And I wouldn't expect to keep any of these wireless systems for more than two years. The good news about these middleware products is they're forcing clients to recognize a new architecture for business applications. In three to four years, there will be more non-PC devices requesting content from enterprise applications than PCs."

Airtuit's BlueMoon 2.5 is available now for $50,000 per server for unlimited users. It will run on Windows NT 4.0 or 2000 Professional, Sun Solaris, and Red Hat Linux.