Cognos and JetForm use XML for future wireless connectivity products

Two high tech heavyweights from the Ottawa area have unveiled plans to use wireless technology to deliver electronic forms and business intelligence applications to cell phones, PDAs and other mobile devices. It’s a bold move for JetForm Corp and Cognos Inc, and one which the two companies say will open new markets for their traditional web-based products and services. Both companies are taking advantage of the extensible mark up language (XML) to generate versions of their applications that can be viewed on various wireless devices. The language allows application developers to write just one version, which can then be viewed in a compatible format on any device, whether it be a desktop computer, cell phone or PDA. JetForm adds wireless connectivity to e-formsJetForm provided shareholders with a glimpse of its wireless aspirations at its annual general meeting two weeks ago. Using a cell phone, executives demonstrated how the company’s ReachForm software could be used to send and receive an ‘e-form’. While this technology is just emerging, it promises to automate a series of business processes. JetForm Corp($millions)FY1999FY2000Revenue114.294.3Net income/(loss)(29.1)(8.1)R&D exp15.415.4560 Rochester St.Ottawa ON K1S 5K2voice: (613) 230-3676Share price (52 wk high)$18.90Share price (52 wk low)$4.65Last close$7.20Cognos Inc ($millions)FY1999FY2000Revenue385.6301.1Net income/(loss)58.858.4R&D exp54.242.73755 Riverside DrOttawa ON K1G 4K9voice: (613) 738-1440fax: (613) 738-0002Share price (52 wk high)$67.00Share price (52 wk low)$14.25Last close$62.00Dave Welch, VP and GM e-forms business group, says prior to this offering, e-forms were available in a non-connected wireless environment. Documents could be manipulated, information inputted and subsequently uploaded to the primary application server at a later time. "This is a natural extension by adding the (wireless) connectivity to the applications," he says. "We had a pretty good strategy in the disconnected mobile space and this rounds out the whole mobile strategy for us." It’s a strategy he says the company has been fine turning for about two years. Write once, viewed by various devices key to strategyJetForm’s future application versions will only need to be written once. The software will then be able to recognize the type of device, its capabilities and limitations and then render the e-form in the appropriate format. By using XML as the underlying meta tagging for the form file, the ReachForm product can then undergo a "dynamic transformation of that XML into HTML or dynamic HTML or now WML," says Welch. The next version of ReachForm with the XML capabilities is scheduled for release early next year. Eric Stevens, VP research and technology evangelist at JetForm, says none of the company’s traditional competitors are taking this end-to-end approach to delivering e-form technology in a wireless environment. JetForm is making the assumption, he says, that all wireless devices are "a natural data entry mechanism for organizations and need to be part of a holistic view – not a separate application." As well, he notes that the company is accomplishing that from a single design environment. "The single XML document is being used to display (on) all those different devices." Stevens says the current infrastructure in Europe and Asia lends itself better to adopting these types of applications and that the "consistency of infrastructure makes it easier to deploy these kinds of applications." Cognos migrates BI tools to cell phones, PDAs At JetForm, the receiving device is far less important than it is to the information delivery team at Cognos. For its customers, the device influences how business intelligence tools provide data and facilitate queries. "We concentrate a lot of our efforts on understanding the needs of these devices and being able to deliver content that is available to us specifically for these devices," says Don Campbell VP of Cognos’ information delivery products. Developing the proper interface for a cell phone or a PDA is important or the essence of the content is lost when viewed improperly. "We want to offer the content in a generic way such that it can be rendered with specific technology just for that device," he says. In the current business environment, where having up to date information is critical, Cognos is trying to satisfy that demand for real-time information. And Campbell says the application must do more than provide an email summary of a major report on a cell phone – it has to help people make business decisions faster. "It’s more than delivering information on the phone, but allowing those devices to be used in an interactive sense to be able to feedback into the system." Using these typically low-bandwidth devices does present challenges however. Cognos is trying to develop interfaces for the various types of devices that will improve their future usability. Another challenge, which is entirely out of the company’s hands, is the data rates at which information is sent and received. "Sending out a couple of lines of text is no problem," says Campbell. "Sending a large colour graphic to a PDA would actually take a bit of time." While the North American wireless industry is typically behind Europe and Asia in terms of applications and penetration, Campbell says the interest of some of its customers here has been growing significantly over the past six months. He expects Europe and Asia will be the first regions to make effective use of the technology, but predicts the U.S. will become early adopters as well. Cognos is R&D intensive in this area right now. Its in discussions with lead customers and partners and has prototype applications in development. Campbell says that within the next 18 months the wireless strategy will begin to be flushed out through product announcements and launches. "You’ll see announcements very shortly about what we’re doing in certain aspects of delivering information (for example) through email to your cell phone," he says. "But for something like being able to have an interactive session with formatted content on your PDA, (that) will probably happen a little later." While it is still unclear the extent to which these applications will become wide spread, the two companies have been talking to customers and prospects about an eventual wireless element to core products. Executives say the response has been favourable, but that it’s still too early in the game to begin making aggressive product announcements or forecasts about sales. Executives from both companies appeared confident, however, that based on the feedback so far, wireless connectivity will be an integral component of the vast majority of their business applications in the near future.

Cognos and JetForm use XML for future wireless connectivity products

News | September 18, 2000

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