Elondra - Corporate Blog http://en.blog.elondra.com/ en-us Nucleus CMS v3.22 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://en.blog.elondra.com//nucleus/nucleus2.gif Elondra - Corporate Blog http://en.blog.elondra.com/ Elondra will be at SIMO 2006 http://en.blog.elondra.com/index.php?itemid=4 It's been there for a while, and the last editions where entering some kind of decadence, but fortunately the managment has reacted and the fair will have some exciting new features.
For us, the most important is the creation of a new Incubator zone, where new companies in the field of IT will be promoted for free. Companies must have products ready for the market, and the products must be innovative and provide value for end users or for the enterprise market. SIMO will provide a fully equiped stand, and promotion through all the materials that the fair will publish, including press releases.
Of course, we sent our profile and presentation to SIMO in order to enter the challenge, and we have been selected. We have just received the notification, and it's been a great joy at the office, not only for the stand and the promotion, but for what it implies.
We want to thank SIMO for this opportunity, and we will take the most out of it.
]]> General http://en.blog.elondra.com/index.php?itemid=4 Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:13:01 +0200 Collaboration Networks http://en.blog.elondra.com/index.php?itemid=3

Elondra Collaboration Networks



At Elondra we are convinced that the best way to achieve success today, more over with technology and communication products, is through collaboration networks. This networks allow you to reach more customers, faster, while distributing profit on the process.

This is why we are building collaboration networks, with two flavours. The first one, already started, is the distributor network, which sell and integrate BaseMovil final products. The second one, to be started soon, the independent developer network, which will be able to use BaseMovil technology to create new applications.

The distributor (VAR) network


The distributor network is targeted to different kinds of companies, that can find an added value and a constant cash input.

These companies will usually work on the hardware and software distribution market, or on the management software industry. The first ones will have some ability to install and configure software, and possibly to create it.

For any VAR, this network will mean a fixed income source, derived from the Elondra business model, in which the customer pays a small monthly fee while he/she uses the service. This benefits the customer, reducing the initial investment and turning the variable total cost of ownership into a known and fixed cost. It also benefits the distributor through a constant income source, and the team that distributor and customer mean, allowing a more sustainable business and relation.

The income materializes through a commission on the final amount satisfied by the customer, both in the set-up fee and the terminal monthly fee.

For software manufacturers, it also means a great added value for their system because it allows them to incorporate an innovative, practical and affordable mobility solution, with an overall low cost for the distributor. They just have to create an export/import feature adapted to the BaseMovil system, so their system can be easily connected to our servers. Moreover, this means that they can forget about the cost of creating their own PDA/terminal based solution.

The developers (ISV) network


The BaseMovil ISV program is targeted to software manufacturing companies and independent professionals that want to offer mobility solutions and explore new markets using the BaseMovil technology.

This program will allow the ISV to create solutions with zero maintenance cost and a very fast time to market. They just need to design their database using the on-line tools provided, and create their mobile application using the BaseMovil libraries and tools, which include the database and synchronization engine, templates, examples, and additional tools, such as the Bluetooth printing system.

The ISV will need to register in order to get all the tools and access information for the on-line management applications.

These applications will allow them to control their customers and databases.

The ISV does not need to spend money or time on additional services to make their application work, because BaseMovil has the service infrastructure, communications, backups, maintenance, etc. BaseMovil also eases the distribution allowing the final customers to download ISV applications from the BaseMovil website.

BaseMovil will charge a fixed fee for the service and for each terminal to the ISV, and it will be he/she that will decide the final price for the customer.

BaseMovil also provides sales assistance through its distributor network.

Narciso Cerezo
CEO Elondra S.L.]]> BaseMovil - Partners http://en.blog.elondra.com/index.php?itemid=3 Wed, 1 Mar 2006 11:04:00 +0100 BaseMovil Official Launching http://en.blog.elondra.com/index.php?itemid=2
This is the opening post on our brand new English blog. We have decided to write it because we think that our product BaseMovil can be used all over the world, and this is a good way to let the whole world know about us.

At last, BaseMovil has begun to work on real customers, and we will soon show their case studies here, with their permission, of course.
It's been a hard way, but the best is yet to come: to reach customers and partners.
On this blog entry I pretend to introduce the BaseMovil system, but more over, our strategy for the future and for commercial collaboration.
Speaking about the product, I will tell you what is all about, it's beginnings, how can it be used by VARs and ISVs, and what it means for the final customer.
Regarding the strategy, I will explain our plan to turn BaseMovil into something valuable for it's customers, offering them unprecedented ways to work and communicate, but also into a network of international distributors and developers that will bring to life a new way of making business anywhere, thanks to mobile phones and the Internet.
We are sure that the best way to achieve this is through a community, where each part of it gets it's benefits.
The resulting scope of our project is far more wide than we initially thought, so wide that we could not reach it's limits alone, even if we pretended to do so. For that reason, and because we firmly believe that the best way to make something like BaseMovil successful nowadays is through a community in which every piece of it does what it's best suited to do, we are creating a network of partners.
In fact, two networks as I have already said: a VAR network and an ISV network.
But before we get there, let me explain you a bit more about BaseMovil:

What is BaseMovil?


BaseMovil started as a sales and presales system for distribution companies, but it has ended as an incredible framework to build business applications on mobile phones.
BaseMovil resolves the hardest issue that has prevented mobile phones from running enterprise class solutions: data access.
The platform exposes a simple interface to software developers that allows data storage and retrieval in a efficient and fast way. The biggest problem of mobile phone development is that data access is very rudimentary, slow and not very well suited to work as a real database. But over that layer we have built a new one, capable of performing fast storage, retrieval and searching and with a high level interface that resembles the standard JDBC.
But that is not enough. What good is to have a mobile phone filled with isolated data? BaseMovil includes a synchronization engine that makes a snap to keep data up to date between the phone and the customers back end software, through our connectivity service over the Internet, very much like the way a phone or PDA synchronizes with a PC.
But there's more to BaseMovil than this pair, though they make the core of the system. BaseMovil provides a framework for developing mobile applications using the well known MVC design pattern, and an framework to print over bluetooth on any printer, just to name two of them.
In fact, we are working on a couple of ideas that will eventually come out as BaseMovil products.
But we have foreseen that the possibilities are almost infinite, you can build an application for what ever purpose that fits your imagination, always fast, always keeping cost low, a reduced time to market and the biggest problems also worked out.
BaseMovil has been also designed from the ground up as an internationalizable system, already translated into Spanish and English, so sky is the limit thanks to the Internet.

BaseMovil for the final customer


BaseMovil is a pay-per-use service, it's software as services, or ASP, as you prefer to call it. That just follows our philosophy at Elondra.
The system has two pieces, both are paid on a monthly basis, with reduced fees so it's accessible for any one, ranging from just one terminal to a thousand of them.
One of them is already mentioned, is the mobile phone. The client side application is installed on the mobile phone, just like a game, through an Internet download or even with the software that comes bundled with most phones today. The first time this application is started, it asks the customer for it's company name, user name and password. Given them, the phone initiates a connection over the Internet to our service, using GPRS/UMTS or whatever communication system the phone uses. The server authenticates the user information, and the phone downloads the whole database, personalized for that concrete user. This usually takes not more than five minutes.
Upon than moment, the terminal is ready to use, and can retrieve and store data with and without signal, that is the good part, of course. You don't need to be always connected, but just connect now and then to send and receive updates. This process can be done several times, and takes much less time than the first one, as only the changes are sent back and forth.
The advantages over current systems working on PDAs or industrial terminals are many. But probably, the one that pops up more evidently is cost. A mobile phone is usually cheaper than a PDA or a terminal. But there are a lot more, starting with the fact that mobile phones are more easily found (there is always a phone dealer nearby), or with another fact: mobile phones are tougher, smaller and today everyone has one; but the best is that everyone knows how to operate them, and everything is much more easy and simple, from connecting to the Internet to printing over bluetooth.
With BaseMovil there issues that have an easy solution, one that is not available with other systems. For example, take a sales person that has being travelling for a week, taking orders. He/she is very far from the office, maybe half a thousand kilometres away. Then the terminal breaks, or it's stolen or lost. If the sales person carries a PDA or industrial terminal, chances are that it will be extremely difficult to find a new one, to install the appropriate software and make it work again, but chances are also that a lot of orders will be lost, because connectivity is poor on this kind of system. With BaseMovil and a mobile phone the whole story is different: the sales person gets to a local phone dealer, buys a suitable phone, installs BaseMovil client software over the Internet and it's almost done, in a couple of minutes the system is ready again. And data loss will be none, or small in the worst case because the sales person has synchronized often, so their orders have been already sent to the server.
The other piece of the BaseMovil system is our service over the Internet, the hub, as some like to call it.
Our Internet service acts as a join between the back end servers of the customer, what ever they are, and the terminals. Through an integration system, our service receives and sends data from/to the customer's back end servers and does the same with the terminals, keeping them all in sync with each other. This establishes a simple and secure way to connect the terminals to the customer's systems.
This service has also an administration interface over the web, so the customer can control how many terminals has, what information is being sent and received, and even manage it's data. This way, even a small size customer that has no back end servers can use our service as a simple management system.

The VAR network


The first step we are taking on the marketing field is to build a network of VARs, or Value Added Resellers, so they can distribute Elondra applications and maybe third party applications built on top of BaseMovil.
Economic conditions are very attractive, we want our distributors to share our success and be the first ones to recommend BaseMovil to their customers. I want to call here for possible VARs, please contact us.

The ISV network


The next step will be to open the system to independent software developers.
The ISVs will have an administration interface that will allow them to design and manage their own databases and customers.
They also will have our technology, our development tools, code samples, open applications, training and so on.
I also want to make a call here too, the ISV program is not yet finished but we are working on it and we want to contact as many ISVs as possible, and know if there's real interest on it.
Of course, ISVs will also have very attractive economic conditions with a very controlled development effort.
You just have to know some Java programming, but that also can be learned.
Please, contact us if you are interested.

The commercial strategy


Well, the strategy itself I have already explained, but what I want to tell you here is what we have found on customers and VARs, and to make another call for your help. Please, tell us your opinion, what you think we can do better.
The main issue is that when we try to explain what BaseMovil is, some people understand it and think it's very interesting from the beginning, but other people don't.
The thing takes a 180 degree turn when we show them the application running on a mobile phone, the astonishment faces are really incredible, even on the ones that we though have understand it from the start.
But, as you might guess, our ability to do this kind of show is limited, and we want to take this deep comprehension to possible customers and network members.
So every comment on this direction will be greatly appreciated and taken into account. We are growing, and we want to get far, very far.

If you have reached this point, we are thankful for your time and attention. We welcome all your comments.

Narciso Cerezo Jiménez
CEO and co-founder of Elondra S.L.]]> BaseMovil http://en.blog.elondra.com/index.php?itemid=2 Sat, 25 Feb 2006 01:30:00 +0100