Going mobile isn’t easy. If it were, there would probably be a lot more companies doing it. And differing standards, multitudinous offerings and the simple cost of wireless applications and services are real hindrances many businesses face.
Aether Systems Inc., which has been a leader in the rush toward the business market, released a product last week that the company said will make wireless much easier, cheaper and safer for businesses shopping for mobile services.
Aether’s new product is called Fusion-an indication of what it does. But it’s not really a product; it’s a way of connecting products and services so they all work together, are more flexible and can change along with a business’s needs. Aether likens Fusion to Lego building blocks. Need your wireless network to work with BlackBerry devices? Just snap in the BlackBerry Lego. Want to upgrade to a GPRS network? Slap in that GPRS Lego. And Fusion is the glue holding those Legos together.
For example, if a business needs to wirelessly extend specific databases to Palm Inc.’s handheld devices, it may simply purchase that specific service from Aether. If, in the future, the business also needs to connect Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry text devices to the network, Aether’s Fusion allows it to cheaply and easily add that service, or module, without redesigning its entire wireless system.
“It’s very modular, very flexible,” said Larry Roshfeld, Aether’s senior vice president of software. “Fusion is a family of products and components.”
Fusion works using the Java 2 platform, Enterprise Edition architecture, and incorporates Aether’s hosting services, ScoutWare product line and its Aether Intelligent Messaging data transport layer.
Roshfeld said Fusion supports all programming languages and devices by cutting through the differing codes among wireless standards. This, he said, allows business’ networks and devices to talk to one another.
The key to Aether’s Fusion, Roshfeld said, is that a business will be able to order applications and services in a prepackaged form, but will have the confidence that the package can be modified and changed. The modifications and changes-the addition of a RIM BlackBerry to a network, for instance-will be pre-designed by Aether and, through Fusion, can be snapped onto a business’s existing wireless network. Roshfeld said Aether has already designed many of the most common modules businesses ask for but will also work proactively to design modules that may be needed in the future.
The added bonus to this kind of setup, Roshfeld said, is that Aether will only have to create one customized module for a specific task and then simply reuse that module when the next business asks for it. Aether’s cost of design will drop sharply while its services will remain the same, he said.
Businesses “don’t care about wireless technology,” Roshfeld said. “They just care about the value.”
“I think Fusion is an ambitious and important step in Aether’s offering,” said Warren Wilson, director of the wireless practice at Summit Strategies Inc. “It gives you the time-to benefit and cost benefit of the packaged models. The customer has very little waiting involved.”
A major benefit of Fusion, Wilson said, is that it is forward compatible as well as backward compatible. According to the company, it will work with third-generation networks as easily as with first-generation ones.
The task Aether faces, Wilson said, is the company itself must also be forward compatible-meaning it must predict market needs and then build up its collection of Fusion modules accordingly.
“I think the success of it is anticipating market needs and building a library of modules,” he said. “The challenge is for Aether to build enough modules at each layer.”
In an effort to reinforce Fusion’s launch, Aether tapped a variety of wireless companies to vouch for the new offering. Peregrine Systems Inc., RIM, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Verizon Wireless are among the product’s supporters.
“We are excited about the potential of Aether Fusion to expand Aether’s ability to produce advanced transportation and logistics solutions, and we look forward to working with Aether on future wireless initiatives,” said Dave Walters, vice president of maintenance and mobile communications for JDC Logistics Inc., one of the many quoted companies in an Aether statement.
“Aether Fusion will allow our customers to seamlessly add new features and technologies as they become available, while insulating themselves from the complexity of wireless infrastructure,” said Dave Oros, Aether’s chairman and chief executive officer.
Aether is in a good position to take advantage of Fusion’s appeal, Wilson said, because the company still has about $1 billion left from its $1.4 billion offering last year. This should come in handy as Aether last week said it will hit its goal of $30 million in revenue in the first quarter and $37 million in the second quarter, but will see a slightly lower-than-expected growth rate in the third and fourth quarters due to “existing market conditions,” Oros said in a release.
