SA mobile messaging 'first` for AmVia, Futuristic, British American Tobacco SA

Mobile messaging specialist, AmVia, together with business partner, Futuristic Contracting and Consulting Services (Cape), have sold SA`s first XIAM mobile data system to British American Tobacco South Africa.

AmVia is the distributor in SA for XIAM, developer of the world`s first true pervasive solution that enables mobile users to remotely access, update and interact with information held on corporate servers, such as e-mail, database, Web and event log servers from any mobile device, anywhere, anytime.

Dean Christensen, regional sales manager for AmVia in the Cape, anticipates further growth in XIAM sales as market awareness of the product`s unmatched capabilities grows.

"While most companies enjoy bulk SMS capabilities, the XIAM Information Router goes further to allow for the seamless, secure and fully bi-directional routing of information between an enterprise and its mobile users.

"Furthermore, this means that remote users can now easily update a database, receive and reply to e-mails, access an intranet or Internet Web page or even restart a critical program from any standard mobile device, at any time."

Roy Skea, Futuristic sales and marketing director, says the deployment of XIAM`s standards-setting Information Router is in line with British American Tobacco South Africa`s progressive approach towards adoption of new business technology.

"Being a marketing and consumer focused organisation, British American Tobacco South Africa endeavours to explore the use of emerging innovative business technologies that can improve and enhance its customer and consumer communication processes," says Graeme A Gerber, from British American Tobacco South Africa`s marketing information technology department.

"The XIAM Information Router, with its singular capabilities of not only enabling bulk SMSs to multiple individuals, but also facilitating and managing their replies, provides British American Tobacco South Africa with unprecedented flexibility and functionality in its one-on-one marketing campaigns," adds Gerber.

Not only will the technology be deployed to expedite consumer relations between British American Tobacco South Africa and its product users, it also offers a highly effective platform for communications with its field forces, including the dissemination of trade marketing and other information to the company`s sales representatives.

According to Skea, the ability of XIAM not only to meet current British American Tobacco South Africa marketing needs and initiatives but also has to integrate into other enterprise applications systems was a major contributor in the organisation`s decision to choose the technology.

"XIAM will seamlessly integrate into other critical applications within British American Tobacco South Africa`s IT infrastructure over the next six months," he confirms.

"For example, XIAM can be enabled to talk to an Oracle engine so that when a systems failure occurs, a script on the server will kick off an SMS to the systems administrator, who can in turn send an SMS back to the server and invoke some predefined reboot procedures."

XIAM provided such an excellent fit to British American Tobacco South Africa`s requirements that the entire sales cycle was conducted incredibly quickly, he says.

"The future of mobility will rest in the hands of customers who own their own infrastructure, which XIAM provides," concludes Christensen.

XIAM supports mobile messaging protocols like SMS as well as mobile Internet technologies such as WAP and i-mode.