MobileDataforce Launches PointSync Mobility Platform 4.0

MobileDataforce Launches PointSync Mobility Platform 4.0 for Rapid Mobile Software Application Development for Handheld PDAs

SYNOPSIS: New Version Features Visual Debugger, Data Mapping Wizard, Support for Hosted Environments, SQL Builder and 220 Pre-built Mobile Application Functions

Boise, Idaho—December 12, 2006 – MobileDataforce® today announced the release of the latest version of the PointSync® Mobility Platform, the next generation of the company’s award-winning rapid application development solution for mobile software development environments. This major release includes over 150 new features, innovations and enhancements to PointSync Developer, PointSync Manager, PointSync Server and PointSync Mobile.

This is a very significant release in MobileDataforce’s 7-year history,” said Kevin Benedict, CEO of MobileDataforce. “PointSync Mobility Platform 4.0 will change the way mobile solutions are developed and will reduce the time it takes for our customers to recognize a return on investment by reducing the time it takes to design, develop and deploy new business critical mobile solutions.”

Key new features and enhancements include:

· New Visual Debugger to quickly debug mobile applications during development
· New Data Mapping Wizard speeds up mobile application integration with enterprise databases
· New SQL Builder speeds up SQL statement development
· Enhanced library of over 220 pre-built functions for mobile application development
· Enhanced graphical user interface tools to improve the user’s mobile application experience
· Expanded support for multiple PointSync applications and databases in a hosted environment
· Enhanced server back-up and restore functions

To learn more, visit http://www.mobiledataforce.com/

About PointSync Mobility Platform

PointSync Mobility Platform is an enterprise class solution used to rapidly design, develop and deploy business critical mobile applications. It is architected to provide database centric mobile applications with bi-directional synchronization, connectivity, security and enterprise database integration all within one product suite.

About MobileDataforce

MobileDataforce is the global leader in the development of enterprise class and business critical software solutions for use on mobile handheld computers including Smart Phones, Tablet PCs and laptops. MobileDataforce has offices in Europe, North America and in Australia to support their expanding customer base and sales channels. Privately held, MobileDataforce has been mobilizing business solutions since 2000. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.mobiledataforce.com/.

Palm Treos and Grabba Card Swipers

We are working on a very cool smartphone and mobile software solution at this time. It involves Palm Treos using the Windows Mobile OS and a Grabba Magnetic Card Reader. This allows mobile sales people and route delivery personnel to take credit and debit card orders as they walk through crowds of shoppers, concert goers, delivery routes and outdoor venues.

My team is using MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform to design, develop and deploy the mobile software solution.

Smart Phones and Enterprise Database Applications

Nearly everyone in our company has a Smart phone now days. By Smart phone I mean a phone with an operating system like Windows Mobile 5.0 or Windows CE and typically includes a touch screen. These operating systems give you the ability to run powerful database centric applications that can synchronize with your company's business software and enterprise databases. This is important when you consider that 30-40% of the workforce is mobile or works remotely.

For the past 40 years companies have been investing in software for automating their business processes and operations. The problem we have today is that most of these investments have been to improve operations within the 4 walls of the office, warehouse or plant and they do not extend to the millions of mobile or remote workers. Smart phones, however, make it possible to utilize these 40 years of internal IT investments and extend them out to the mobile workforce.

My PSO (professional services organization) spends all their time helping customers extend business software applications out to Smart phones and other handheld devices. We are in effect developing "mobile clients" that integrate and synchronize with whatever business applications they use in the office. The technology we use to extend business software solutions out to the mobile workforce is MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform.

Here are a few previous blog articles on the subject of Smart Phones for your reference.

In this blog article I wrote about the convergence of industrial handhelds with consumer grade handhelds and Smart phones. The Smart phone in this article even has a built-in bar code scanner.

In this article concert goers can buy T-shirts and other retail items from sales people walking the aisles with Smart phones.

In this article hemophiliac patients keep in touch with their healthcare providers via a database application on a Smart phone.

HVAC Service Orders on Handheld PDAs

In the last few weeks we have delivered 4 HVAC applications. The image attached is a recent application that was created using MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform and delivered to a Dutch company.

The ROIs found from automating work and service orders are easily defined:

1. Daily service orders can be wirelessly dispatched directly to the service technician in the field.
2. Schedules can be dynamically changed on the handheld
3. Driving directions can be included and wirelessly dispatched to the handheld and integrated with numerous GPS navigation systems available on PDAs
4. Customer history and equipment warranty information can be included in the work order and dispatched to the handheld device
5. Parts can be ordered on the application and wirelessly synchronized with the office
6. Parts inventory levels and shipping status can be queried on the handheld device
7. Completed service orders can be invoiced and printed on a mobile printer and left with the customer for fast payment
8. Completed service orders can be synchronized and integrated with the office database, so no re-typing is required.

These are just a few of the common features in the mobile HVAC applications we have recently delivered using MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform.

NFL Scout's Job - Watching, Measuring, Assessing

I read an article on a plane last week about how NFL Scouts do their job of finding talent for their football teams. Bob Morris spends much of the year traveling (20,000 miles per year) to different games, practices and workouts to analyze and evaluate players. The picture in the above right shows Bob carrying a reporter's notebook to collect this data. He evalutes over 500 players each year and records huge amounts of information on each player.

Of course - from my perspective as CEO of MobileDataforce, I believe he should be collecting all of this data on a handheld PDA or a Tablet PC so this information can be instantly sent back to the team's database for analysis, comparisons with other players and past data from each player.

The process of data collection that Bob Morris is using is not so dissimilar to many organizations that still collect huge volumes of inspection data and field tests on paper tablets or forms. MobileDataforce has developed 2 complete suites of data collection software to help companies and government agencies mobilize their field data collection processes.

Here is another blog article on data collection and inspections.