IBM And QUALCOMM To Extend E-Business To Wireless Devices
IBM's WebSphere Studio Device Developer To Include BREW Plug-In To Further Enhance Wireless Applications Development
ORLANDO, FL --(INTERNET WIRE)--Mar 19, 2002 -- IBM (NYSE:IBM - news) and QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq:QCOM - news), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced that the companies have agreed to extend IBM WebSphere* infrastructure software via QUALCOMM's Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless™ (BREW™) platform, opening WebSphere to millions of wireless devices worldwide. In addition, IBM's WebSphere Studio Device Developer, a new development environment to create, test and deploy e-business applications, will include a BREW plug-in.
Using the same programming model that made WebSphere the industry-leading infrastructure software for e-business on the server, IBM has created the foundation for conducting e-business on BREW-enabled phones using Java™ technology. The BREW platform offers wireless service providers a complete solution for a wide array of enterprise e-business and consumer applications on wireless devices, providing customers with the ability to download applications over the air, virtually anytime, anywhere.
Wireless carriers will be able to offer subscribers a range of new services based on WebSphere's open standards and the BREW platform, without the cumbersome customer inputs previously required. For example, a technician using a BREW-enabled device could view full-motion video on their cell phone, instructing him on how to remove a part from a photocopier. Then, any replacement parts could be ordered and confirmed - over the air. The combination of the BREW platform and WebSphere Micro Environment will make this and other productivity enhancing applications a reality for enterprises around the world.
"QUALCOMM is working with IBM to evolve cell phones from being simple, stand alone voice or messaging devices to multi-purpose information devices that can take advantage of the full promise of e-business," said Jonathan Prial, vice president of marketing, Pervasive Computing, IBM. "By using the BREW platform's open standards to combine the portability of Java with the power of WebSphere, developers can help enterprises extend e-business applications to wireless devices while keeping the technology inexpensive, secure and flexible."
"WebSphere is the perfect answer for carriers who want to provide e-business solutions to their subscribers," said Gina Lombardi, senior vice president of marketing and product management for QUALCOMM Internet Services. "Our development efforts will provide carriers a complete environment for the hosting of C/C++, Java and e-business applications. This brings the power of e-business into the worldwide applications market that the BREW platform is enabling."
"IBM is a significant force in the enterprise. As such, its selection of the BREW platform as a standard part of its WebSphere platform adds a powerful tool for developers to create wireless enterprise applications," said Jane Zweig, CEO of The Shosteck Group, an international telecommunications consultancy based in Wheaton, Maryland, USA.
New WebSphere Tools for Devices Help Speed Development, Tune Performance
In addition to the WebSphere Micro Environment extension to the BREW platform, developers will have access to WebSphere Studio Device Developer, a new development environment to create, test and deploy e-business applications on BREW devices. WebSphere Studio Device Developer is built on the Eclipse open source platform for tools integration (www.eclipse.org) and offers development teams a single, unified collaborative environment to develop Java applications. QUALCOMM is working with IBM, using Eclipse technology, to provide a BREW development plug-in for WebSphere Studio Device Developer. This will enable BREW developers using C/C++ or Java to use one open development environment, making it faster and easier to integrate application development.
WebSphere Studio Device Developer enables developers to deploy an application to a BREW-enabled device and remotely debug the application as it runs -- live on the device. The application is tested in the actual environment in which it is deployed - critical when deploying applications to millions of devices.
About IBM's (NYSE:IBM - news) WebSphere Software
WebSphere is Internet infrastructure software - known as middleware - that enables companies to develop, deploy and integrate next-generation e-business applications, such as those for business-to-business e-commerce. WebSphere supports business applications from simple Web publishing through enterprise-scale transaction processing. WebSphere transforms the way businesses manage customer, partner and employee relationships. More information about the WebSphere software platform is on the Web at www.ibm.com/websphere.
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