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Funanmbol
http://www.funambol.net/c/portal/layout?p_l_id=1The world is going mobile, but IT infrastructures are often static
Over half of new PCs are laptops. Over 750 million mobile phones and wireless devices will be sold this year. This means that there are over 1,000,000,000 wireless computing devices that need a reliable mobile infrastructure. And IT is not ready.
You need a mobile application server with reliable, standards-based synchronization
Mobile devices are the preferred user platform worldwide, so your next application will need to be optimized for mobile computing. Wireless devices are intermittently connected, yet must be capable of running your applications at any time. To do this, data must be cached on the device, and must be able to reliably synchronize with server-side data. But before that, your software application itself has to be kept up to date from the server…and before that, the underlying device has to be properly configured and managed to run your software.
To successfully build and deploy mobile applications, or extend your services to mobile users, you’ll need more than just Java or .Net. You’ll need the services provided by a mobile application server:
- Data Synchronization
- Application Provisioning
- Device Management
Data synchronization is at the heart of mobile computing.
Whether it’s a new contact list, calendar entries, emails, today’s delivery schedule, or the current inventory report, mobile users need to have the right information to do their job, even though the devices are only intermittently connected. Your application will need to work with a wide variety of devices across all carriers and networks. More about synchronization…
Application provisioning is key to the mobile software life-cycle.
In mobile environments, the life cycle of a specific application version may be measured in minutes. With the limited memory of many mobile devices, application modules may have to be downloaded on a “single use” basis. Keeping all of your client devices up to date with the right modules is something you want done as a middleware service…not coded into your application. Funambol can help you here.
Remote device management and configuration is the “bootstrap.”
You rarely have control over the devices that will be trying to use your application or service. Yet devices have a wide range of configuration options. So it is important to be able to interrogate and monitor the device, and make configuration changes remotely. The only way to ensure ease of use and proper functionality is to have the device under some level of centralized control and management. More about device management…
Mobile Application Servers provide the key services and APIs.
Since your application will be running on both the client and server, you’ll need APIs, adaptors, and SDKs to make the application run seamlessly. You need more than just a proprietary “sync server.” You’ll also need more than a conventional application server, which does not have the synchronization services and protocol support you will need. Only a mobile application server explicitly designed from the ground up for wireless computing will do the job.
Open Source is the key technology base.
As has been proven with Linux, Apache, MySQL, JBoss, and other infrastructure technologies, open source is a cornerstone to rapid adoption and customer acceptance. Funambol’s core engine is open source technology that is being downloaded nearly 20,000 times a month. This means the high quality, broad device compatibility, and innovation rates made possible by large communities.