Infrastructure gets the message

Software.com's Directory 5 manages applications, subscriber information Behind flashy applications and cutting-edge technology lies an infrastructure that needs more attention as subscribers increase and applications become more complex. As the wireless Internet revolution looms, Software.com has begun to take a closer look at what's happening behind the scenes. The company has introduced Directory 5, a standards-based back-office software infrastructure that can help wireless and wireline carriers manage subscribers and applications.

Announced in September, the Directory 5 platform consolidates the proprietary directories and user databases from multiple applications, including billing and provisioning, e-commerce, e-mail and IP unified messaging. It acts as a storehouse of personal profile information (see figure).

By bringing these applications together on the back end, carriers can cut maintenance costs and management issues.

The consolidation of databases will be driven by carriers' need to add messaging applications, said Angela Finney, senior product manager of Directory 5 for Software.com. The company intends to bundle Directory 5 with its other messaging products.

As carriers aim to speed service creation and drive down costs while increasing revenue, they face back-office issues such as the challenge of managing complex infrastructure, which can include synchronization issues and capacity demands, Finney said.

"Unless infrastructure is solidified on the back end, providers never will be able to [solidify offerings] for consumers," she said. "With one directory, they can manage everything. Instead of subscriber information being split along the infrastructure, they can centralize it."

Software.com's timing may be on target, considering the wireless Internet is expected to create even more complexity.

"We have gained a new focus on the back-end infrastructure behind the wireless Internet," said Mark Taguchi, director of strategic marketing for Software.com.

The work Software.com was doing in the infrastructure management area caught the eye of Phone.com, another software infrastructure company.

To build upon each other's strengths, Phone.com and Software.com in August agreed to merge in a stock swap valued at about $6.8 billion. The new company, which has yet to be named, will combine Software.com's unified messaging experience and Phone.com's ability to link mobile carriers' customers to the Internet via its Web-enabled browser.

"We are in the midst of a transition where we are seeing a change in business," said Ben Linder, vice president of marketing for Phone.com. "It now is about gaining a common [platform] and addressing mobility from the subscriber [perspective]."

The companies plan to unify service offerings across all application segments. To do so, subscriber information and applications must be centered on a common set of IP standards and IP platforms, Linder said.

Standardization of directory services could be a big part of driving unification. "The directory is the next big hit of the IP revolution," Finney said. "What is driving carriers to look at this is the [increasing number] of applications. An increase in mergers also will create the need to standardize their directory, which is key because that is where subscriber information is."

Like Software.com, Phone.com has recognized the need to go deeper into wireless Internet technology. Wireless Application Protocol and the wireless Internet have been explored on the top level, and "the next five years will be about the guts of the network being taken over by IP," Linder said.

Every wireless company has been looking at IP to provide Internet access and services from a standard, unmodified wireless device. The evolution of circuit-switched wireless networks to packet-based networks is expected to provide carriers with improved operating margins and reduced operating costs. As devices mature and networks can support voice and data over the same IP infrastructure, carriers will have to pay more attention to the back-end systems.

Handspring, for example, developed an expansion module for its VisorPhone that combines voice communications with the Visor hand-held computer.

"Handspring shows how mature the market is by creating a richer end device," Linder said. "But more software now will be needed on the back end."