In a move which underscores its leading position as an innovator of globally relevant technology, Prism Holdings - the JSE-listed secure electronic payments company - has been awarded a development grant of up to R1.5 million by the Department of Trade and Industry`s Support Programme for Industrial Innovation (SPII).
The grant, which will be matched by a similar investment from Prism, will be directed at ongoing developments surrounding Prism`s leading-edge SIM technology, which has already been widely adopted around the world for use in mobile commerce (m-commerce) initiatives.
Now Prism plans to use the grant to develop a next generation SIM browser for the SmartPhone environment, in support of even more advanced data and m-commerce applications.
The SPII programme, which is administered by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), is geared to support the development of products and processes which "represent a significant technological advance and have a commercial advantage over existing products".
Prism CEO Alvin Els points out that the SPII selection panel (consisting of representatives from the DTI, IDC and Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology) applies stringent criteria when considering the awarding of grants in terms of the SPII Matching Scheme.
"Apart from the technological innovation associated with the product, the panel takes into consideration the applicant`s financial ability to develop the product, as well as to manufacture and market it - or have it manufactured and marketed. Bearing in mind that companies awarded grants have to match the award rand-for-rand, Prism had to go through a tough due diligence process of both our financial and R&D capacity to qualify," he adds.
According to Deon Visser, MD of Prism`s Card Business Unit, several of the world`s largest manufacturers of SIM cards, including the Munich-based international technology group Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) and NYSE-listed SchlumbergerSema, license Prism`s SIM technology for use in the products they supply to GSM network operators in the Far East.
"But technology is moving on. Prism is therefore involved in a drive to support critical m-commerce functionality in the `Smartphone` environments currently being promoted by Microsoft and the J2ME/Symbian alliance," he says.
Smartphones or 2.5G phones bridge the gap between 2G and 3G GSM services. They offer a superior applications development environment for everything from games to payment applications and a host of other multimedia features and take advantage of the improved data capabilities provided by GPRS on existing GSM networks.
"Prism`s innovations will also extend into new SIM browser technologies giving network operators ease of migration from 2G and 2.5G browser to 3G browser technologies, as well as support for downloading third-party-developed functions and applications.
"The SPII award represents a positive, objective litmus test of market prospects and possibilities for Prism technology. Importantly, Prism`s next-generation SIM technologies will be solidly based on standards-based enablers, making them compatible for forwardly-migrating operators worldwide," Visser concludes.
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JSE-listed Prism Holdings is a world leader in the secure electronic transaction market. With a growing presence in Europe and South-East Asia, Prism is one of the few companies in the world offering services solutions and products that bridge the following core technologies:
a. Security - sophisticated cryptographic security solutions, many developed using own intellectual property resources;
b. Payment solutions in the physical and virtual (Internet and wireless) realms; and
c. Smart card technologies spanning both wireless communications and electronic payments.
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