Sybase Buying Spree Yields Product Results
Answers Anywhere, from Sybase's iAnywhere subsidiary, is a natural language interface based on technology acquired when Sybase bought Dejima in April. Sybase mFolio is middleware to optimize the display of Web content for mobile devices without recoding. Sybase PocketBuilder 2.0 is the latest release of the mobile application development tool.
Answers Anywhere
Answers Anywhere's middleware platform lets users request information in their own words and get answers back quickly. Users can interact with data services without having to formulate valid queries or navigate complex menus. Sybase is pushing Answers Anywhere as an interface for wireless data services. Its early users include Salesforce.com.
Three versions of Answers Anywhere are available:
- Answers Anywhere Mobile Messaging Edition is targeted at mobile providers for wireless access to data through SMS text messaging and voice services. Providers can use it to build revenue-generating services using location-based services.
- Answers Anywhere Enterprise Edition is intened to provide access to enterprise applications for mobile and desktop users through Web, email, voice and text-messaging interfaces.
- Answers Anywhere Developer Edition enables developers to build customized applications. Toyota ITC is one early customer using the Answers Anywhere technology to develop in-car telematics applications.
Sybase mFolio
Sybase mFolio helps optimize subscribers' mobile browsing experience on small screen devices. mFolio works without recoding or maintaining separate databases of mobile-device compatible data. Instead it "captures" Web pages and manipulates them for display intelligently, using a Document-Object-Model-like approach to optimizing screen real estate and displaying content. Captures can be recorded and shared, and a capture "wizard" gives users access to personalized data.
mFolio provides a plug-in to the mobile device's browser. The product uses XML and includes a mobile RSS reader. mFolio caches content for offline use, and is battery-aware: it manage content updates based on the device's remaining power.
Sybase PocketBuilder 2.0
PocketBuilder 2.0 is the latest release of the rapid application development (RAD) tool for mobile and wireless applications. PocketBuilder has been hailed by the industry, including first place in the developer tool category for MobileVillage's 2004 "Mobile Star awards," and the "Productivity Award" in the 14th Annual Software Development Jolt Product Excellence Awards mobile development tools category.
Sybase's current string of acquisitions began with AvantGo in December of 2002. AvantGo, now part of iAnywhere had strengths in the connection and synchronization of data between mobile devices and servers that have obviously shaped the mFolio and PocketBuilder products. AvantGo technology also figured in two products Sybase announced earlier in October, Unwired Accelerator and Unwired Orchestrator, products aimed at helping IT departments, mobile providers, ISVs, and consultants "mobilize" enterprise applications by using iAnywhere platform software.