ResQ/Me Users Say, “Rescue Me,” ResQNet Responds
ResQNet.com, Inc. (New York) has introduced a new service offering, ResQEnable, in an effort to ensure proper utilization of its host-access product line. Specifically, ResQEnable is intended to assist users in the implementation of ResQ/Me—a recently released wireless-to-host solution that has proven especially cumbersome for some clients to set up.
The announcement is surprising, as ResQNet.com has positioned its products as easy-to-use, do-it-yourself solutions. Todres Yampel, president and COO of ResQNet.com, has said, "ResQ/Me eliminates the complexity, delay and cost of enabling host applications for wireless access." ResQEnable provides those unable to configure wireless screens on their own with the services of a specialist at an additional cost.
"A lot of sites, even though we say they don't need services, they want services," says Steven Eskenazi, VP of marketing for ResQNet.com. Eskenazi attributes many of the implementation difficulties to the dynamics of trying to configure an AS/400 green screen in such a way that it is usable on a wireless device. "We're not trying to fit a 15-inch screen on a Palm Pilot."
Eskenazi explains that users have been reluctant to accept the fact that in order to wireless-enable, some changes to the host dialogue will need to be made. Within this reluctance lies the problem confronting ResQNet.com. The ResQEnable service, says Eskenazi, "helps them with that adaptation of getting out of that mode of trying to squeeze everything onto a Palm screen."
According to Anura Guruge, an independent technical consultant, it will take some time before the marketplace understands how wireless-access works best. "The technology is right at the beginning of the curve," says Guruge, who points out that many people are still messing around with their Web-to-host solution, and describes wireless-to-host as a far more intricate process. "PCs and GUIs have been around for 20 years," explains Guruge. "If ResQNet had offered this service two years ago, we'd be much further along."
Inconsistencies in the wireless application protocol (WAP) have also made it difficult for ResQ/Me users. "WAP interpretation can get confusing because the protocols differ from country to country," says Eskenazi. And he points to these differing interpretations as a major reason for ResQEnable's existence. "It's not necessarily a matter of reprogramming—it's more looking to see what liberties the ISPs are taking with WAP protocols and figuring them out."
Despite the initial growing pains, and even with the addition of ResQEnable to the implementation process, ResQNet.com remains confident ResQ/Me is the quickest-to-market wireless solution available. Eskenazi claims that ResQ/Me allows a user to wireless-enable 10 screens a day, while competitive products average about one.
Janet Kreuger, an analyst with Andrews Consulting Group, cites support and pricing as the two main factors companies consider when pursuing a whatever-to-host solution. ResQNet.com, she says, was sorely lacking in the area of support prior to the release of ResQEnable. So, it would seem, ResQEnable better positions ResQNet.com within the host-access space.
ResQEnable services bill out at $1,500 per day. The average engagement to date is three days. The service includes training, mentoring, and the development of some screens.
A ResQ/Me starter kit, which includes the server component, Customization Studio, and 25 concurrent user sessions, can be purchased for approximately $25,000. Each additional concurrent user session costs $199.
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