NEW YORK-ResQNet.com Inc. looked at the market opportunity for connecting mobile workers to corporate databases and decided the field of middleware suppliers had too many players.
Complex Systems Group, parent of the New York-based company, has incorporated graphical user interfaces into legacy computer applications for many years without changing underlying source code. While building on its core competency, it opted for a different approach in competing for service to the growing corporate market for communicating wirelessly with employees.
“We said why get into the middleware space because it’s already crowded, so we’re offering something close to a shrink-wrapped, off-the-shelf product,” said Steve Eskenazi, vice president of marketing for ResQNet.com.
“Other people, through middleware, can do this, but then you drag in the IT (information technology) department. … We are a threat to middleware providers.”
Several months ago, the company introduced ResQMe, which stands for Results Correctly Mobile Express.
“We have taken the natural evolution of the desktop and extended it to wireless while adding real-time capabilities for the field force,” Eskenazi said.
“We are in legacy rejuvenation. As an extension of that, we are giving mobile professionals firewall access to data in a drag-and-drop form factor delivered via a Web server.”
Most mobile professionals really want just 10-15 lines of information, so the system asks them exactly what they are looking for before transmitting troves of unnecessary information, he added.
“The `get to the point’ navigation aid moves immediately to screens they need to see,” said Todres Yampel, president and chief operating officer of ResQNet.com.
“Say you have a distributor whom you don’t want to see the underlying price or other codes. That information is hidden, but not in the device taking up capacity. They won’t be able to access it even if the user knows what the system is.”
Mobile workers typically need to access information that is continually updated, but the process of doing so easily can overwhelm the ability of internal corporate IT departments to manage the flow. For this reason, ResQMe is designed to be easy for nontechnical employees using a personal computer in the office to input new information, Yampel said.
“We take advantage of cellular networks for ongoing updates. We are talking with the Bells and the Aethers about creating wireless service providers/wireless virtual private networks to serve up vital intranet data to their high-end corporate customers,” Eskenazi said.
