Extended Systems: Bridging Reps and Customers at M.R. Williams

Computerworld -

Extended Systems Inc.

Category: Mobile/wireless

Location: Boise, Idaho

Technology: OneBridge Mobile Platform (formerly XtndConnect Server)

How it works: OneBridge enables a variety of devices to access up-to-the-minute corporate data and applications, whether through a dial-up synchronization cradle, a wireless connection or a browser.

"Push" technology enables wireless users to receive e-mail in real time. OneBridge also provides IT with tools to secure and manage the mobile environment, as well as a development platform for mobile applications.

Customer sampling: CBS Broadcasting Inc., DaimlerChrysler AG, Major League Baseball, Chase Manhattan Bank

Tip: Veteran handheld device users are accustomed to syncing their devices locally through a desktop computer. A "client deployment wizard" included with OneBridge can help change this work habit. It enables IT to preconfigure user settings on mobile devices, such as automating the initial connection and disabling local synchronization capabilities.

What's in store: "Extended has always been known for its sync technology, but expanding that to include real-time wireless access and push e-mail brings a strong offering to customers with multiple requirements," says Stephen Drake, an analyst at IDC in Framingham, Mass.

But while some analysts are optimistic about the future of wireless e-mail, "it's difficult to perform an ROI [analysis] on it," says Adam Zawel, who covers wireless/mobile enterprise computing at The Yankee Group. "You have a feeling that it improves productivity, but it's difficult to justify in these tight budget times."

At the same time, Zawel says, Boston-based Yankee Group estimates that about a quarter of all businesses plan on doing something with wireless over the next two years, doubling the number of wireless users today.

User Profile

When Mike Williams, CEO of M.R. Williams Inc., wanted a competitive edge for his wholesale food distribution company, he bypassed the obvious solutions. "He said, 'We can compete on price or service or fast delivery, but everyone else is doing the same sort of thing,'" remembers Jane King, IT director at the Henderson, N.C.-based company. "His idea of how to keep customers was to provide them with a tool to handle inventory much more easily."

That's where Extended Systems' OneBridge comes in. It provides the bridge between corporate data housed on the company's AS/400 system and order processing/inventory management applications housed on Palm devices that are distributed to 150 M.R. Williams customers, mainly convenience stores.

Twice a week, the convenience stores sync their Palm devices with the AS/400 over a dial-up connection, downloading current pricing data, information on hot-selling items, a suggested order list and current accounts receivable. They go off-line to actually create their orders, using the inventory management application on their handhelds, and then go back online to transmit the orders to the AS/400.