Isis to pioneer new-wave enterprise mobile solution

Following the signing of a value-added reseller agreement with European software vendor, Fenestrae, Isis Information Systems - a subsidiary of the JSE Securities Exchange listed Altech group - is to become one of the first companies in SA to sell, implement and support software which provides companies with a comprehensive real-time enterprise mobility solution.

The solution, Enterprise Mobility Server (EMS), enables users to access and receive any company information - including access to Microsoft Outlook Express as well as other business systems - straight from their cellular phones, anytime and anywhere.

Isis Information Systems` telecommunications division will market the new solution, said the New Business Development Manager, Ben Coetzer. "We will be pioneering this new solution in SA and will also be using other group companies, AutoPage and Supercall, to market EMS to clients."

EMS works wherever there is telecommunication coverage. It extends the reach of enterprise information systems, providing worldwide 24x7 access to business critical information off mobile phones, PDAs or laptops - and integrates fax, e-mail and SMS messaging.

"But the real beauty is that no additional outlay in equipment or network infrastructure needs to be funded by companies. In fact, employees only need a cellular phone to be able to transmit and receive data anywhere or anytime. In today`s e-commerce world the concept of anytime, anywhere, anyhow is becoming not only well known, but it is now a business necessity," said Coetzer.

He said the company would sell, implement and support the software, as well as integrating the solution into clients` back-office systems - including legacy systems - so that company data can be accessed via cellular phones.

"Due to our extensive integration capabilities, we will be able to integrate EMS with not only SAP, but with other leading ERP solutions, including PeopleSoft and Oracle. EMS makes use of GPRS, the latest cellular data communications method, but even older phones will at least be able to utilise the software capabilities to access back-office system by means of SMSs. The system also facilitates access via the Internet. The market applications are vast and include literally every business sector, he said.

According to Gartner (2001) four in 10 employees are away from their desk at any one time. Forrester (2002) meanwhile, reports that 21% of Global 3 500 companies` staff are no longer tied to the desktop. "It is clear," said Coetzer, "that companies need to invest in mobile business applications that reach employees working from home or in the field. Fenestrae`s EMS does just this. It allows businesses to implement a complete mobile business and multimedia messaging strategy."

Coetzer said it enabled the system-level integration of applications, networks and hardware devices into a distributed, mobile computing environment. This global solution supports a range of integrated communications protocols and delivers push, pull, browsing and multimedia capabilities from a single solution.

Moreover, it offers a comprehensive enterprise communications and messaging solution that integrates different enterprise applications with every communication channel, including SMS, WAP, I-mode, Web and fax.

"It is hard to anticipate the revenue flow we will generate for the company going forward, but our research shows that there will be a significant amount of interest."