Aug/Sept 2008

IBM has launched a major initiative to extend its presence in the mobile computing applications market. There are new software applications, a new mobile development environment and a mobile consultancy service. There are also resources to convert existing desktop business applications directly into mobile applications.

Perhaps of most immediate interest is the development environment, which is branded IBM Rational Business Developer. This is said to help developers create 'Web 2.0-style' applications in IBM's newest business language, Enterprise Generation Language (EGL), that will run on both mainframe and mobile devices.

The company says EGL makes it easy for developers to build new applications and extend existing applications without having to be familiar with the underlying middleware or platform technologies.

Equally intriguing is IBM's Rational Host Access Transformation Services (HATS for short), which aims to help developers transform green-screen applications into a mobile user interface and Web services. As a result, users can access mainframe applications from a mobile phone, PDA or other remote mobile device.

Not brand new, but new to some users, will be the IBM Cognos 8 Go! Mobile suite, which aims to provide users with access to timely, secure and personalised information on mobile devices and operating systems. There is support for a range of platforms including BlackBerry, Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 wireless.

The software aims to help users view and interact with business intelligence content on these devices to increase their productivity and improve their decision-making.

Underpinning the whole drive is IBM's new business consulting service, Mobility@Work. The company reckons this can help users provide a mobile work environment that allows employees to collaborate across business and geographic boundaries while providing secure access to applications and connections to colleagues.

Whilst IBM has had an ongoing presence in the mobile computing market for some time, it may not have been identified as a specialist in this field when set against the emerging range of suppliers who have taken pains to be identified with the mobile market. This new initiative looks like an indication of IBM's determination to redress the balance.