Aug/Sept 2007

Belgravium, primarily a mobile computer and data capture hardware producer, has launched itself confidently into the mobile middleware market with an ambitious turnkey software suite called Mobile Data Portal. It claims this can offer users universal data connectivity and transparency, regardless of their back-end system, core operating platform, communication medium, development tools and front-end data capture devices.

The company says it has developed the product in the light of its long experience in the data capture market. It adds that each application will need to be developed in the light of the user's specific requirements.

It outlines five key components in the suite. The first is the front end, which can be 'literally any application', it says - either existing or written specially by Belgravium or an authorised partner. Many pre-written products are already available, it adds.

The next item is hardware, and Belgravium points out that it makes everything that could be required - though hinting that it need not be the sole supplier. Communication, the third component, can include any popular medium such as GPRS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, it says.

 

Belgravium says it will use database mapping to take data from the user's back-end system and place it on a platform-independent SQL server running on any platform such as Windows, Linux, Unix or AS/400.

The company says it has used industry-standard development tools such as PHP, VXML and Ajax to develop a suite of intelligent connectivity applications allowing seamless connection between the SQL server and the remote mobile data capture devices.

The heart of the application, Belgravium says, is the back-end business system. It doesn't aspire to write this, but says its open SQL-based architecture makes it easy to link mobile data with systems such as ERP, financial management, warehouse management, service management and customer relations management.