Mobile databasing company delves into higher education
By Lauren Lowrey, Contributing Editor
Recently, iAnywhere announced their launching of a campus mobile solution allowing any higher education facility’s educational and administrative resources to be available through a single, consistent interface on the Sprint PCS Network. Not only does iAnywhere have its hold on a quickly developing market, it’s on the bleeding edge of database and mobile enterprise solutions as well.
iAnywhere Solutions, Inc. was formed as a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc. in 2000, building on the success of Sybase’s Mobile and Embedded Computing division. After four years, the company is the worldwide market leader in mobile and embedded databases, mobile middleware and mobile and remote device management. More than 15,000 customers and 1,000 partners rely on the company’s award-winning products. Its AvantGo® mobile Internet service allows you to download web content to your PDA or smart phone for free and boasts more than ten million registered subscribers.
“Today’s educational environment is more intense than ever – students and administrators need to have the latest information at their fingertips, wherever they may be,” said Kate Quackenbush, Director of Marketing for iAnywhere Solutions.
This collaboration has been in the works with Sprint for 6 months, and is another on the list of iAnywhere and Sprint partnerships. Together, they have rolled out a Mobile Claims Adjuster solution for insurance companies, have jointly presented a number of webcasts and seminars in the market, and have jointly presented at trade shows.
This time, Sprint and iAnywhere are focused on higher education. “Our partnership with Sprint ensures that information is delivered over a fast, reliable and secure Sprint network, so end users can easily and conveniently access it whenever they want,” said Ms. Quackenbush. The new interface for college campuses allows students to access their class syllabus, notes, and grades. Even a campus map and photos of parking lots are available for finding empty parking spaces around campus. “With Campus Connect, we’re enabling the next generation to leverage mobile technology to fit their lifestyle, any time of the day, anywhere on campus or in the world,” Ms. Quackenbush said.
“Campus Connect is another great example of how iAnywhere’s mobile technology enables educational institutions to take information out of the data centers to the point of interaction with students, faculty and staff,” said Ms. Quackenbush. The convenient thing about Campus Connect is that now students can quickly and easily get all of the information they need anytime, anywhere on the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network. “Gone are the days of students getting by with just email and Internet access,” said Tim Donahue, Vice President – Enterprise Marketing, Sprint Business Solutions.
Since the recent launching of CampusConnect there have been no specific implementations, but iAnywhere has implemented mobile solutions for Harvard Medical School and Tower Hamlets College in East London. One of the concerns a higher ed institution would have is the price of Campus Connect. “Cost would vary depending on the amount of content to be mobilized, the number of users on the network, and the number of servers needed to support synchronization of the system,” says Ms. Quackenbush.
To find out more about iAnywhere and their Campus Connect interface, click here.