Wireless Knowledge Corporate Backrounder
Contact Information
Internet: www.wirelessknowledge.com
Email: info@wirelessknowledge.com
The Company
Founded in 1998, wirelessknowledge™ L.L.C. is a privately held company that started as a teaming effort between QUALCOMM, the creators of CDMA wireless technologies, and Microsoft®, the experts in network and groupware computing solutions. The result is a company focused on the convergence of wireless communications access and information technology. The Company's vision is to extend the reach of corporate groupware, offering secure access to productivity and information services for an airlink and device independent end-to-end solution based on existing Internet and computing standards. This will allow these professionals access to the information that is of the greatest importance to them from anywhere they travel, using any wireless or mobile device. The full range of CE devices, palm-sized PCs, browser-equipped phones, other HTML-enabled PDAs and laptop computers can be used. The company is based in San Diego, California.
While wireless data access is prolific in some vertical markets, wireless data for the business professional has fallen short of being truly useful. The primary reason is a lack of complete solutions that work together seamlessly. According to a recent International Data Corporation report titled "Wireless Access to the Internet — Today and Tomorrow" (May, 1998), wireless Internet access is still in its infancy. As corporations and consumers are increasingly turning to the Internet and to corporate intranets to obtain all types of information, Net availability is becoming nearly as commonplace as PCs themselves. With workers becoming more and more mobile, wireless access to corporate productivity tools, to the Internet and to corporate intranets will grow considerably over the next decade.
wirelessknowledge™ is the first company to provide a complete wireless access solution to corporate groupware, with a variety of value-added services and a high level of support from which mobile professionals will greatly benefit. Further, the Company is committed to using open standards to provide the widest possible access from devices to information sources so as the market grows, the service and solution will easily be able to accommodate new users and devices.
More specifically, the strategy is four-fold. It includes:
Providing the essential services for mobile professionals – wireless access to email, contacts, calendars and news on any device.
Working closely with wireless carrier partners to deliver innovative and compelling new services.
Partnering and leveraging relationships with specialized content and application providers to bring more and more valuable information and services to users, wherever they are located.
Providing customers, through carrier partners, with the highest levels of technical and customer support so they are never without their necessary information.
The Market
Mobile professionals of today are busier than ever, running from meeting to meeting, catching flights and commuting from point A to B. This growing segment of the workplace, comprised of sales and marketing professionals, trainers and other executives, need real-time access from wherever they are to their email, contacts and other data residing on their corporate server in order to make informed decisions and successfully complete their work in a timely manner.
The market for wireless data services is at its infancy. According to International Data Corporation, coverage and transmission speed are improving markedly, which will enable the market to show strong growth ("U.S. Wireless Services and Devices Market Assessment, 1997-2002; February, 1998). Outstanding growth rates are expected in the number of subscribers over the next five years.
Key Market Trends
The industry is at a pivotal point in time where several key trends are converging. Recognizing these trends along with their inherent problems and opportunities, and being able to offer solutions to these problems while getting a jump-start on the opportunities, ensures the success of the Company's products and services. Microsoft® and QUALCOMM are at the forefront in understanding, defining and driving many of these trends.
Carrier Data Deployment. The infrastructure for wireless data will soon be ready to be deployed at cost effective rates. These networks are being implemented in such a way as to provide IP connectivity across the network - resulting in the ability to leverage the Internet for key productivity applications and services.
Increased Bandwidth. Over the next several years, over-the-air data capability will expand on networks.
Increased Internet Usage. The Internet is pervasive. Web access is almost universally provided in corporations. End users are becoming extremely comfortable with Internet technology and electronic mail has become the standard for most time sensitive written communication.
Emergence of Capable PDAs. The worldwide market for smart handheld devices is exploding with the emergence of new small form factor companions from consumer electronics and computer vendors. The market has emerged from its early-adopter status with the acceptance of handheld devices that address the low-cost entry-level market. In addition, the entry of Windows CE-based devices has begun to change the landscape of the market. As a result, PDAs are useful and often critical in the day-to-day workplace. This trend will continue with highly dependent users desiring wireless connectivity and services from these devices.
Transition of the Handset. Today's wireless handset will become dramatically more capable. Increases in processor power, memory and display density will evolve today's handset into a fully capable computer running both local and network based applications.
Growth of Laptop Market. As the workforce becomes more mobile through telecommuting and travel, laptop use is growing. For obvious reasons, laptop users desire the convenience of access to their information, corporate intranets and the Internet wirelessly.
Carriers' Need for Increased Services. As the market becomes more competitive, carriers are experiencing slowing revenue growth due to declining per minute airtime pricing. The carriers are looking to reclaim this revenue with enhanced services. Additionally, carriers are seeking to expand their product offerings and further tailor their services to the individual. The wirelessknowledge™ services are the perfect solution to assist the carriers in providing meaningful options to the end user or corporate client.
Services
In the initial release, wirelessknowledge™ is offering service solutions on an OEM basis to wireless carriers. These services can be provided across a wide spectrum of wireless or mobile device types, such as the full range of CE devices, palm-sized PCs, browser-equipped phones, other HTML-enabled PDAs and laptop computers. This gives users access to their email, voice mail, contacts, calendar and other data residing on either a hosted server or on their corporate Exchange servers. This saves users time by allowing them to take action or make changes to this data from anywhere, and eliminating the hassle of synchronizing the data upon returning to the office.
Representative services include:
Electronic Mail. This allows customers to use their existing email clients and provides value-added email applications for certain key devices. Email formatting is optimized for each device and includes integration with alerts.Voice attachments to email on a browser-enabled phone. This feature can be used as groupware to "broadcast" voice "mail" to the desktops of work group members and to their phones. The user can choose "reply with voice" from a menu on the phone's display. This allows the phone to "record" the message as a "voice note" and broadcast it to an email list. Additional features also include accessing this "voice" mail via dial-up DTMF tones. This strategy provides a full suite of email clients to access an account. Customers can mix and match the device access methods.
Calendaring. This feature allows one to access the calendar in Microsoft® Exchange as it is on a corporate server, or desktop computer.
Contacts. This feature allows one to access contacts in Microsoft® Exchange as it is on a corporate server.or desktop computer.
Content. Information content is provided in two ways: using generic Internet access to all supported device configurations and providing device-tailored start pages for each device class.
Hosted Access. This feature allows individual and small business customers to sign up for accounts where the Exchange server is hosted on their behalf without the extra complexity of setting up their own network and servers.
Corporate Access. Larger companies can utilize a combination of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and new firewall access methods to enable corporate access to mobile users.
Future Service Development
wirelessknowledge™, along with its carrier partners, will ensure the market is receiving unmatched innovation and remains completely satisfied in all business aspects. The Company believes that forging long-term relationships with its partners based upon win-win scenarios and dedication to quality is the key to market leadership. The philosophy of listening to customers' special needs and designing specific product and service offerings that exceed these specifications is also central to success.
Key Strategic Relationships
wirelessknowledge™ is committed to the goal of never shipping a product or service unless it affords technology partners, distributors and their end-users with the best value, performance and features. This assures the Company's carrier partners of the ability to consistently produce high revenues and premium margins derived from value-added "non-commodity" sales. Key to wirelessknowledge™ success are the Company's strategic partnerships with companies such as Microsoft® and leading carriers worldwide. Its close interaction in providing solutions to these industry leaders and their customers ensures the most advanced and reliable products and services from wirelessknowledge™ now and in the future.
Delivery Strategy
The Company is teaming up with carriers and OEMs who will offer the service to their customers. The service is accessible wirelessly through the carrier and via wireline using Internet access provided by the user. The service supports any airlink that supports IP connectivity as well as wireline access through a user provided Internet Service Provider (ISP) starting in 1999. The United States and Canada are the first target markets followed by various international markets in the future. To support deployment by the carriers, the Company plans to implement a systems integration practice to facilitate enterprise installations. During the first quarter of 1999, the Company will also announce partners to assist with the systems integration effort. The Company will support developer programs to stimulate and enable application and content development using open Internet standards.
©1998 wirelessknowledge™
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