Research In Motion offers developers a look at new enterprise application middleware the company plans to deliver in beta later in 2010 that will make it easier to create enterprise apps for the BlackBerry smartphone platform.
Research In Motion is perfecting new software to make it easier for
developers to build enterprise applications for the BlackBerry smartphone
platform.
At the BlackBerry Developer
Conference 2010 (DEVCON 2010), RIM previewed its upcoming BlackBerry Enterprise
Application Middleware-an application development platform that will enable
commercial enterprise and corporate developers to more easily build enterprise
applications and services for BlackBerry smartphones by tapping developer
platforms from enterprise players such as IBM,
Oracle, SAP and Sybase.
"By introducing this BlackBerry application middleware offering, we
want to make it easy for enterprise middleware developers to build apps to a
server back end and have users get access on the device," said Paxton
Cooper, senior director of platform product management at RIM, in an interview
with eWEEK.
Cooper said BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware will include a set
of APIs, libraries and server software that will make it easier for developers
to build "super apps" that can access instant data push and alerts,
use efficient file transfers with enterprise applications, and make it easy to
query a user's device for geo-location, presence, current camera image,
calendar availability, device type and much more. It will be possible to use it
with popular application development platforms such as IBM
WebSphere, Oracle Fusion Middleware and the mobility platform from SAP
and Sybase, and can be integrated with these platforms to give access to developers,
he said.
These capabilities are combined with the advantages of the BlackBerry
Enterprise Solution, offering real-time communication via true push technology;
cost-effective data usage; efficiency over carrier networks; easy Web-based
administration of smartphones, servers, users, groups and applications; single
sign-on; and secure wireless access to enterprise systems.
"BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware will make it easier to
build essential enterprise functions in BlackBerry smartphone applications that
are currently not available or easily built on any other mobile platform,"
said Alan Brenner, senior vice president at RIM, in a statement. "It also
presents new opportunities for innovation in enterprise application development
by our strategic alliance partners, enterprise customers, systems integrators
and independent software vendor community."
IBM Interactive, Oracle and SAP
are currently using BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware in early
trials. The initial set of BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware
libraries are expected to be available in closed beta later this year, RIM
said. Additional libraries are expected to be released in 2011. RIM will be
previewing the first BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware libraries-Alert/Notifications
Push, Files Transfer and Device Information to Server App-at BlackBerry DEVCON
being held in San Francisco Sept. 27-30.
IBM Interactive is using the BlackBerry
Enterprise Application Middleware together with IBM
WebSphere to help develop a business-to-consumer application with ING
DIRECT.
"The use of mobile technologies has become second nature across both
the consumer and the enterprise landscape," said Kelly Chambliss, IBM's
Application Innovation Services Leader for North America,
in a statement. "By extending the reach of information and transactions
via mobile devices, we are helping our clients tap into new opportunities to
both differentiate the customer experience and transform the workforce.
BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware allows us to take advantage of our
deep mobile expertise to help our clients realize the power of an
interconnected planet."
"ING DIRECT Canada
has a suite of secure, simple and highly functional mobile applications, and we
are excited about extending this functionality using the new BlackBerry
Enterprise Application Middleware technology," said Charaka Kithulegoda,
chief information officer at ING DIRECT Canada,
also in a statement. "BlackBerry Enterprise Application Middleware
provides us with a platform to offer our clients a richer and more innovative
experience when using our mobile banking applications for BlackBerry
smartphones. ... The use of features like push notifications-for a subscribed
alerting service-engages the client by capturing their attention at the right
time. Alerts can provide important information to the client and provides ING
DIRECT Canada
with a just-in-time messaging platform."
Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.
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