If professionals need to be productive on the go, vVault thinks it has a platform on which they can walk.
A mobile productivity applications provider, the company sets out to provide a technology platform to power network operators, ISPs, telecom carriers and device manufacturers.
“By coupling message and file management technologies, we allow users to access, send and receive documents via email and fax, and to view documents on mobile devices,” said Will Aldrich, vVault’s vice president, product development.
The company got a boost last week by signing a deal with wireless e-mail and Internet services provider OmniSky to enable mobile professionals access to critical business documents over a variety of wireless messaging devices.
“OmniSky is a significant turning point for this company,” emphasized Aldrich. “It is a validation of the credibility of our platform as a world-class offering.”
The company believes the alliance marks the first offer of full e-mail attachment access by a major wireless Internet provider, which up till now have excluded business users from viewing, sharing and printing large documents attached to e-mail.
Targeting about 160 million subscribers of OmniSky’s wireless Internet services, Aldrich said professionals could access files wherever they are stored and also collaborate with groups of users.
“We share OmniSky’s vision to pioneer and promote innovative and useful business applications for the growing ranks of mobile professionals,” said Aldrich.
Founded in 1999 with its headquarters in San Francisco, Vvault’s platform harnesses foundation technologies from Oracle, Sun, Cisco and BEA.
William Ho is the company’s chairman and chief executive officer.
It found its first major customer in Handango Wireless Solutions, which provides handheld and wireless software. Handango offers vVault-powered FileMinder service to its about 1 million monthly visitors to its Web site.
vVault claims to have secured more than 5,000 mobile professionals and enterprise users with its trial service.
Its platform comprises XML API components, which provide partners with documents covering syntax, description and attributes of each function point in its application features. The company said its API features single sign-on, document management, file preview, massaging and reporting and billing.
The product works with a variety of interfaces, including WAP, i-mode, PQA, SMS, voice and XML/SOAP.
The company says it has raised$4.7 million in funding and names the following as its prominent investors: Bluefish Ventures, Gerard, Klauer, Mattison & Co. Partners I Fund, Leo Hindery, formerly of AT&T, Global Crossing and Mark Patterson, vice chairman of credit Suisse First Boston.
vVault has its eye on a future when mobile professionals will be the mainstay of the economy.
“We are focused on pushing the user experience forward,” said Aldrich.