Also at CITA, Microsoft unveiled MapPoint Location Server, software that integrates with the Redmond, Wa.-based developer's MapPoint Web Service to display real-time location of mobile devices. Mobile operators who offer services based on MapPoint Location Server (MLS)--both Sprint and Bell Canada said they would roll out such services--can be used by enterprises to show the location of mobile assets, such as vehicle fleets, or to dispatch the nearest service and support personnel to a customer.
MLS can be used by enterprises and developers to integrate this location-pinpointing information into their existing business applications, said Microsoft, through the server software's ties with MapPoint Web Service, the Web-based mapping service Microsoft has long offered.
Sun Microsystems and Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry devices and server software, used CITA to launch a joint effort to bring Java Web services to RIM's enterprise customers. Sun said it will assist RIM in building out Web-services tools for the Java-based BlackBerry handhelds and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and help it integrate its offerings with Sun's own content servers.
Sun also struck a deal with AT&T Wireless that will allow the former's Java Desktop System--an integrated desktop that Sun sells to compete with Microsoft Windows, which includes the StarOffice application suite, the Mozilla browser, Evolution e-mail client, and other apps--to run on AT&T Wireless's Edge network. Scheduled to be available to customers in the fall of this year, the integration will let workers using Java Desktop in the office run it on wireless-enabled notebooks over AT&T's high-speed Edge network.
Other firms that launched products at the massive conference include PalmSource, which rolled out Mobile Mail 5.0 for the newest Palm OS handhelds, the Cobalt and Garnet. Mobile Mail 5.0 provides secure wireless e-mail connectivity between Palm-powered handhelds and enterprise mail servers. The software supports Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino servers on the corporate side, as well as standard POP3, IMAP, and SMTP protocols. E-mail can be pushed to the handheld from the enterprise on a schedule set by the user, and security has been enhanced through support of both SSL and over-the-air encrypted authentication.
To realize the benefits of cloud-native software, an application must actually be cloud-native—designed to run in the cloud, interacting with disaggregated cloud services, fully manageable as code—to deliver the expected benefits.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
