Kumar: CA Driving Wireless, Web Services Development

In a keynote presentation Sunday night here at CA World, Kumar said CA has launched a "major research and development effort" aimed at getting all of its products wireless-enabled and integrated with each other.

Kumar also pledged an aggressive Web services development effort. "Many of our products will be reengineered for Web services and many other products will become Web services," Kumar said.

Promising CA will be "Swiss," Kumar pledged support for both Microsoft's .Net and Sun Microsystems' SunOne Web services platforms.

On the wireless front, CA is using its AllFusion development technology to wireless-enable all of the company's top product lines, said Kumar.

Furthermore, he said Unicenter will be used to manage wireless devices; eTrust will be used to secure wireless networks; CleverPath portals will be run on portable handheld devices; and BrightStor will be used to store and retrieve wireless data.

In addition, CA is using its Advantage Wireless Integrator product to put the power of mainframe information and databases into the hands of wireless users, said Kumar.

"The power of wireless is all about getting access to information anywhere anytime," said Kumar. "Imagine the productivity gains we call could enjoy if we could just get the information at the right time," he said.

Grady Crunk, executive vice president of Central Data Inc., a Titusville, Fla. solution provider which is focusing heavily on wireless technology, praised CA's stepped-up commitment to wireless technology. "Almost everything we do has a wireless component," said Crunk, who estimated that about 35 percent of his company's $62 million in sales will come from wireless solutions this year.

Crunk also praised CA's new channel strategy to push all of its storage software products through the channel. "They are definitely driving further and further into the channel," he said. "We are very excited about that."