Teams with SignalSoft, Webraska, and Kivera

IBM today announced end-to-end capabilities that allow service providers and content providers to offer location-based services.

The market for location-based services is expected to reach $20 billion by 2005, according to industry analyst Ovum. They predict that by then 80 percent of the more than one billion users of wireless data services will be using location-based services, and that location-based services will account for more than 10 percent of the total $1.8 trillion worth of mobile e-commerce transactions.

Location-based services blend information about a person's location with other useful content, providing relevant, timely and local information to consumers when and where they need it. For example, those trying to hail a cab in New York City can simply type ``taxi'' on their cell phone, sending a signal to a local cab company that can then dispatch a driver closest to that location. Another example of location-based services is requesting a map outlining the shortest route between two locations based on real-time traffic conditions.

IBM is delivering new Location Services for its WebSphere Everyplace Server (WES) 2.1 software and is working with SignalSoft, a leading provider of location management infrastructure, to obtain location information from carrier networks. This information will be made available to application developers. Service providers and their subscribers will be able to control when and where location information is disclosed, providing a high degree of privacy and security. Webraska and Kivera, leading providers of navigation application technology, are using the WES Location Service to obtain location information. Navigation, which includes mapping and routing functions, makes location-based content meaningful to consumers.

IBM is also enhancing its WES System Development Kit to support the creation of location aware applications. These applications can run on top of the WebSphere Portal Server (WPS) or standalone. The WebSphere Portal Server is software that enables companies to build next generation portals, offering users a personalized, secure, single point of access for content, applications, processes, and people - - anywhere, anytime and from any device, wired or wireless. Webraska and Kivera are developing location-aware portlets, or portal applications, that run on WPS.

``Location-based services do not stand alone but need to be integrated with other mobile middleware capabilities, such as security, privacy, transcoding, and scalability, all of which are included in IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Server 2.1,'' said Jon Prial, Director of Marketing and Strategy, IBM Pervasive Computing. ``IBM looks forward to working with SignalSoft, Webraska, and Kivera, to offer a highly robust, secure and scalable infrastructure to deliver location-based services. We'll continue to work with additional business partners as the market unfolds.''

``SignalSoft is pleased to bring our expertise in location-based software products to location-enable IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Server,'' said David Hose, president and CEO of SignalSoft. ``IBM has been behind thousands of successful enterprises, providing superior technology tools to help maximize efficiency and productivity. The addition of location services will empower businesses even further, equipping their employees with the convenience of mobility.''

``Webraska is the navigation infrastructure supplier of choice for major telecom and service providers around the world, such as Telecom Italia Mobile. Webraska's Wireless Navigation Platform is the clear choice for major players seeking to develop location-based and telematics applications that bring interactive services to end-users. IBM and Webraska are already working together on a number of projects concerning wireless operators in the US and Europe. We are delighted about this announcement which further strengthens our alliance with IBM,'' stated Jamie Macdonald, Chief Operating Officer of Webraska.

``Kivera's Java-based component architecture is ideally suited for integration with WebSphere, said Rajiv Synghal, Chief Technology Officer of Kivera. The Kivera Location Server is the most technologically advanced, and, coupled with Kivera's ability to absorb new content sources quickly, provides developers the tools they need to build powerful location offerings and applications for their customers.''

About IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Server 2.1

IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Server (WES) v2.1, which will be available end of July, is highly scalable server software for connecting wireless and other Internet-ready devices to the Web. WES set a new industry benchmark by supporting 20 million wireless data subscribers, or 353,000 active users, exceeding the wireless data load carriers experience today in the world's largest cities. This is more than six times the scalability of competitors' products and is twice the industry average rate of concurrency. The ability to scale to millions of users is increasingly important as companies adapt their infrastructures for the wireless Web.

IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Server 2.1 also has new features that dramatically change the way people and applications communicate, delivering pertinent information in a timely manner. Specifically, the software includes intelligent notification based on contextual information, tools for building voice-enabled applications, and end-to-end capabilities for location-based services.