When people are on the move they want their information to move as fast as they do. Applications tailored to mobile devices, however, are often not as speedy as their owners can be.
Software developer ClairMail has put legs on mobile data with the Monday launch of ClairAccess, which provides one-click access to application and database information to BlackBerrys, digital wireless phones and the desktop.
Users who want to find out their latest bank balances or the tasks they need to accomplish with a prospective client can click on a pre-generated script that grabs the information from the enterprise application.
The script acts like a contact in your address book, resolving in this case to an object rather than a person. Accessing the data is as easy as “calling” the contact. The data request can be sent using a variety of methods: Short Message Service (SMS)
Instead of replicating application usability on a mobile device, which means cramming functionality into a device that is inherently limited by processing and display constraints, ClairMail developers have relegated the number-crunching needs for the mobile device to a back-end transactional server.
The mobile approach to mobile applications has generally failed, said Joe Salesky, ClairMail CEO, because companies are trying to translate desktop functionality to a mobile device. He said users can obtain the information they need in one second using ClairAccess that they could in 14 seconds using a mobility-based application.
“The truth is you don’t need to mobilize the [application], you just need to mobilize access.”
ClairAccess eliminates the need to navigate through the application, set up a secure session
Instead, the processed pre-generated script is sent directly to the back-end transactional server where it takes the information it needs from the application and sends it back to the user.
For security, the mobile device acts as its own means of authentication so users don’t have to log onto a specific application to get the information.
The drawback to the technology is in its versatility. Because there is no client software on the device itself, functionality comes only from the pre-generated scripts.
If mobile users need to access information that hasn’t already been defined, they’re going to have to wait for a developer to create a new script. Salesky said developers can easily create new scripts in Perl or Java.
ClairAccess is available as an appliance that sits inside the corporate firewall or as a hosted service. The hosted service starts at approximately $100 per user annually.
