StreamServe 2.3 Gives Cellular Phone Users Access to AS/400
Capitalizing on the growing popularity of pervasive computing,
StreamServe (Raleigh, N.C.) has announced the addition of wireless support in StreamServe 2.3, which allows AS/400 users to receive information from an ERP system via cell phone or pagers.
"Market demand drove us to add wireless support capabilities in the newest release of StreamServe," says Christer Berg, president of StreamServe, North America. "We act as a filter, giving users information in real time, in a format that is easy to understand."
StreamServe 2.3 changes the landscape of communication for its customers, as users will now be able to route business-critical information from an enterprise application server to a customer, business partner or employee's cellular phone or pager through the Short Message Service Protocol. The information the recipient receives is formatted and customized, ensuring that they only get the information they requested.
The system is also set up so that employees of the company can call into the StreamServe software to get information stored on the Web routed directly to them.
According to Berg, version 2.3 will be particularly helpful for high ranking executives, such as CFO's, who are traveling and need timely access to important business information. "We have received enormous response from executives who are very excited about the new capabilities in 2.3. A CFO can call and ask for a P & L report and version 2.3 pulls out the report from the ERP system and formats it so the CFO can read it right on their cell phone," he says. "It can also be formatted so that the CFO can get the report sent to him every day without asking for it."
In addition to the SMS functionality, StreamServe 2.3 also features enhanced XML capabilities. "XML is the keystone in business communication integration, it allows companies to effectively communicate with each other" says Berg. "XML is rapidly replacing EDI as the choice for inter-company communication and to enable XML support is very important to us."
A new XML feature, XMLOUT, supports Microsoft's BizTalk and enables businesses to choose the XML-based format they want to use when sending information to business partners. "StreamServe's ability to convert input into an expanded variety of XML schemas allows businesses to use the Internet to customize communication to meet their customer and business partners' needs," Berg added.
StreamServe interfaces seamlessly with ERP business systems and has certified interfaces with companies such as SAP, Baan, Oracle, Intentia, QAD and Concord. It also has general interfaces with companies such as Mapics, Infinium, and eBPCS. "Intentia has pre-integrated StreamServe into the next version of Movex," says Berg, "One of our goals is to gain partnerships with other ERP companies to pre-integrate StreamServe into their systems."
Looking to the future, Berg says StreamServe will continue to focus on adding more pervasive computing capabilities in future releases. "We're currently developing WAP- and Palm Pilot-enabled output solutions," he says. "And we expect to roll them out over the next few months."