Sybase pumps $25m into Wi-Fi bubble

The Register's Wireless LAN Channel

Sybase is to speed up the development of enterprise apps over Wi-Fi in a $25m push.

The database firm is setting up some Wi-Fi competency centres, appointing the University of Waterloo as its first. And it is to spend some of the $25m on a global marketing campaign conducted through its resellers.

Sybase is big on mobility: it claims 10,000 corporate customers for mobile and wireless information access technology supplied by its iAnyware Solutions subsidiary. And it owns the "world's biggest mobile content service", MyAvantgo with eight million registered users.

The company notes the huge upswing in corporate interest in WiFi. There is "enormous pent-up reliable enterprise Wi-Fi applications that deliver measurable ROI".

However, an "estimated 30 per cent of executives cite significant barriers to deployment of Wi-Fi including inconsistent connectivity, low network security, short device battery life, a lack of reliable 'unwired' applications and technology infrastructure that is not wireless-enabled.

Sybase says its WiFi technology already addresses successfully the issues of connectivity, security and battery life. And it has brought Jack Gold, veep at analyst firm META to deliver the following quote:

"Although enterprises see great potential in applying Wi-Fi technologies to their business, many are still confused about employing Wi-Fi, with security, application persistence, and ease of deployment/use as primary concerns. There are significant opportunities for vendors to take a leadership position by enabling one-stop, complete solutions, thus easing the way for enterprises to apply these technologies to their business."

Is $25m enough? ®

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