SEAGULL Supports Wireless-to-Host Solution
SEAGULL (Atlanta), a provider of server software and thin client “viewer” technology for AS/400 and mainframe systems, has released a product which extends the use of wireless technology to not only link individuals with personal information, but also to link employees with host-system applications from remote locations.
SEAGULL announced recently that it will offer support for connecting Web-enabled wireless devices to business applications. The devices connect to the Internet using Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). SEAGULL developed this technology based on the belief that a growing number of companies will need to provide access to core server-based business applications for off-site employees or representatives, just as users now access stock portfolios and the latest news from the Internet through mobile phones or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs).
“We allow anybody that owns a host system to put their information out on a Web server where it can be accessed,” said Andre den Haan, SEAGULL VP of product strategy. “We don’t care what the device is that’s being used to connect to the system, whether the device is a PC with a Web browser, a mobile phone, or a PalmPilot.”
SEAGULL provides wireless-to-host connectivity for AS/400s through its Java Host Session Connector for users of its J Walk or WinJa product lines. SEAGULL’s wireless-to-host solution allows businesses to quickly make host-based information and processes accessible via Web-ready wireless devices. Den Haan emphasized that the system is non-invasive in that implementing the solution requires no changes to the host application, a facet that allows greater reliability and reduced time-to-market, according to den Haan. Den Haan also says that this simplified implementation was a priority for SEAGULL in its effort to create an effective and efficient e-business tool.
“Your core systems don’t change all that much, but it’s how your people or your new applications interface with your core systems. That’s the definition of e-business to us,” he says.
Broadly speaking, the wireless-to-host function is designed to allow businesses to give employees in the field real-time access to core business functions. For example, SEAGULL developers envision workers being able to check inventory, account information or order status from remote locations. According to responses from users so far, den Haan says, different customers find uses for the technology that are particularly suited to their needs.
“In general the responses that we get are very enthusiastic,” den Haan says. “And it gives people new ideas about how to use the technology for their specific kinds of business.”
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