Sybase unveils mobile apps middleware

Sybase today announced its Sybase Information Anywhere Suite, a middleware platform intended to facilitate fixed-mobile convergence for corporate users by providing security and ease of use for IT mobile applications.

The announcement is significant for wireless service providers, said Rob Veitch, director of business development, because it provides the basis for enterprise customers to migrate their IT applications securely onto a mobile service, to connect their employees and improve productivity. In the process, that will drive up mobile usage, he said.

“What we are specifically unveiling is the Information Anywhere suite which brings together the best of breed technology and point solutions which we have been building over last three years into a suite of comprehensive interactive products – everything you would need from one vendor,” Veitch said. “All of us together in the wireless industry – device makers, wireless service providers, and infrastructure companies like us are interdependent. We are at the coming of age of this industry. New 2.5 to 3 G networks are reasonably available, and there are exciting new converged devices from Treo, Blackberry, Nokia, and Microsoft. Now we can address all of the concerns about how to get the applications onto the networks and into these devices.”

A core piece of the middleware is the ability to extract data from enterprise applications and deliver that to mobile workers in an application format that works for mobile use. For example, the Heterogeneous Mobile Email Delivery system can push data including email, calendar, contacts and tasks from corporate applications to mobile workers in real time, he said.

Other functions include central management and support of mobile devices, applications and data; security for the devices, data, applications and users against unauthorized access and other threats; and application enablement that allows custom mobile applications and software to be developed and deployed.

The middleware helps address concerns about extending the enterprise into the mobile space while still complying with federal regulations such as Sarbannes-Oxley and privacy laws, Veitch said.