But with Alcatel-Lucent’s acquisition of OpenPlug, we at least see the beginnings of a pervasive strategy (did anyone else notice their “all major plats” claim suspiciously omits BlackBerry?), albeit a much more narrow and limited vision than ours. Granted, seeing language almost out of our marketing literature is a mixed blessing, but we do see positive validation in this deal:

• native application development is not only here to stay, it is a much superior technical choice than mobile web. For years we have argued with those who are so concerned about fragmentation, they continually predicted the demise of native apps. We are glad to see people, at least for at least sophisticated apps, changing their tune.
• third-party tools are increasingly important not only because of their time to market advantage and cost advantages, but to many other intangibles: consistent user experience, code maintainability. This is one hidden reason why Apple is rejecting 3rd party platforms under the guise of “inferior performance”: they are legally avoiding competition to their closed hardware and software ecosystem- remember they are selling hardware, not software and don’t want to compete with the large existing install base of TVs and eBooks, unless they are new Apple branded devices of course!
• developers need to be incentivized, or at minimum given guidance, to develop bandwidth efficient apps. I reiterated this exact point in my previous post regarding carrier’s mixed messaging and business model when it comes to data caps and net neutrality

• infrastructure providers or carriers need to penetrate deeper into the mobile value chain instead of letting OEMs or platforms control the developer and user experience. Expect there to be a tug-of war for the attention of developers and more end-to-end solution for developers forthcoming.
• expect new business models emerge outside of the current app store revenue split

For their part, Alcatel is strategically smart to make this move. For our part, a peer-to-peer/group, decentralized approach like Voyager is a much stronger solution to network efficiency. Plus we just flat-out reach more devices (embedded and small footprint) and offer community-based device collaboration, a true M2M play. But technology superiority aside, pervasive is hot right now and that’s great news.

While this is may be true, network providers are in a sticky position. On one hand, you can’t in one breath tout your superior performance over rivals and publicize new investments in 4G, and in the next breadth and complain about the limitations of your infrastructure. As Jim Patterson astutely noted in a recent RCR article “ If the bandwidth is as copious as predicted, many consumers and small businesses will see [LTE] services as a wireline replacement, not a complement. This is precisely the wrong time to begin to delineate wireless from wireline services.” Recently published data cap pricing plans are just another example of this mixed messaging.

On the other hand, simple economics tells us that high demand met with an insufficient supply (in spectrum) equals a business opportunity to carriers and potentially higher prices to customers who are very willing to pay a premium for the always-connected lifestyle.

It is precisely this type of quandary where innovation is often born. Innovators take problems labeled under “can’t be done” and “we have no other choice” turn them into blue-water products that solve real market needs.

At Recursion, we’ve taken the pending scalability problem to task in our development roadmap for pervasive platform Voyager. We do not claim to solve the still sticky issue of net neutrality, but we offer a way around the real underlying issue of spectrum scarcity and scalability. We’ve chosen to do this by presenting a new, more efficient architecture for wireless apps, a hybrid solution that uses a smart-client-as-a-server and peer-to-peer connectivity both to keep data distribution at the edge, closer to the point of origin and destination as possible.  This means excluding application servers and the mobile web from the mix, and allowing the device itself to carry more of the burden. GigaOM (Pro) describes our approach as vital to the future of connected devices in their coverage Cool, Calm and Connected: 3 Design Principles for Connected Objects.

Those familiar with Voyager know we’ve been in the forefront of mobile innovation in this area for over a decade.  Those just getting to know us should read more about how Voyager helps developers solve both bandwidth and fragmentation issues.  Whether it is our approach or a policy-driven solution, carriers should strive to incentivize developers to build efficient apps, preferably native implementations vs. the mobile web, while also incentivizing consumers to consume just enough data to appreciate the value of their connected service, while seeing bandwidth as a resource worth conserving. Recent data cap plans are a very poor solution to the resource issue.

Innovation is what fueled the birth of the internet. It is only fitting that innovation solves the inevitable growing pains as the internet transforms into Internet of Things. We welcome your thoughts and comments on our vision for this exciting future that is upon us.  And we want to know: what are you doing to innovate in the area of bandwidth?

Network Address Translation Support (NAT)

The addition of NAT offers increases security to a mobile community by eliminating current firewall restrictions that in most typical employ. Most firewalls inhibit applications from easily and securely spanning networks and firewalls. Voyager’s support for Network Address Translation (NAT), and the resolution of application clients/services with multiple addresses is key for solutions that need to operate on multiple networks and spanning various firewalls.  Combined with the ability to communicate securely over the same socket and port, Voyager provides a pervasive borderless middleware platform that does not compromise firewall security.

Voyager’s NAT capabilities are a key security feature used in the Planetary Skin prototype with partner Cisco. Planetary skin is a co-development effort by Cisco, NASA and other partners to cover the planet in a connected sensor network with the goal of collecting climate change information and discovering ways to stop the warming of the earth. This exciting project was named one of TIME Magazine’s  50 Best Inventions of 2009. The NAT capability in Voyager  is being used to reduce the number of open ports needed when exchanging large volumes of sensor data and other information between many collaborators and agencies over the internet.

We will update you more on current deployments using Voyager 8 as they become publicly available. For now, we are excited to see the initial applications for The Internet of Things unfold!

At CTIA this week, Recursion Software is showcasing an anticipated new Voyager release centering around three new features:

• Network Address Translation Support (NAT)– Enables Voyager applications to securely span multiple networks and associated firewalls without unnecessarily exposing public IP addresses or ports
• Dynamic Discovery – Enables Voyager applications and services running on devices to automatically discover each other within a LAN to share information
• Distributed BONDI – Enables remote access via BONDI compliant interfaces to data resident from any device to any other device(s) on the network

The announcement has further fueled an ongoing argument over web vs. native apps as best for mobile development. The web app camp has long touted fragmentation as the overriding consideration above all others for why developers should go the browser route. This argument is based on the conclusion that developing for each OS is too expensive- a true statement- combined with the assumption that there is no other solution to the problem. Perhaps Java’s failed vision for “write once, run everywhere” has tainted pubic opinion that a single platform can accomplish this task.

Yet, Recursion has long maintained the assumption that no platform is truly pervasive is flawed. And as we announced this week at CTIA, we are continuing to enhance our Voyager platform as the best alternative to web app development, one that addresses fragmentation on the communications and software level through the most pervasive API set available today. Furthermore, Voyager-powered apps solve the major deal-breaker for always-on and mission-critical enterprise apps: bandwidth performance and offline capabilities.

Bandwidth consumption will continue to worsen as smartphone adoption increases and with new connected services, such as M2M and Emerging Devices initiatives that both AT&T and Sprint recently announced. Much to the public’s chagrin, the networks plan on offering access to these devices at an additional cost. And furthermore, they will be charging by the kb. An ever-increasing number of connected devices only increases the need for a low-bandwidth, pervasive mobile platform.

As the “Internet of Things” emerges, the important question arise: Why send data up to the cloud for processing, and back to the device again when you very well are standing next to the device with which you want to exchange content? Will your app continue to function when 1 Billion other uses do the same thing? Is the ease of development at the cost of performance worth trade-off? Ultimately, the needs of the end user- where these apps are eventually monetized in some fashion- should be a developer’s utmost concern. Whether it’s the app can’t scale, or it’s the network to blame, to the average user it doesn’t matter much why.

The solution benefiting both developers and networks alike is simply that devices need the ability to participate in real-time data sharing with other devices, systems and clouds regardless of the networks that the participating devices and systems are on. For most transactions, this is the most efficient use of bandwidth, with the cloud functioning as a back-up and archiving system on an as-needed basis.  As chips and RAM become smaller, cheaper, faster, the case for tapping into the processing power of the phone itself gains even more credibility over potential “cloud sprawl”.

Solving Bandwidth by Smart Network Use
Solving the growing challenges in mobile development is at the core benefit of the Voyager platform. Voyager removes the requirement to push all transactions and data to the cloud and pull data back to the device again with each transition or download.  It allows devices to host services that can be discovered dynamically, providing an extremely powerful peer-2-peer, peer-2-group architectural option to further reduce network traffic. This is also possible in part because Voyager works on various wireless networks in addition to Telco networks.

The Voyager platform has provided these ad hoc capabilities for most major platforms- iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Symbian, Windows, etc.- for some time now. However, Voyager’s latest release offers 3 enhancements to these capabilities, which I briefly outlined at the start of this post. (Look to subsequent posts that discuss these enhancements in detail.) With the case made for the important role need established for a platform , the Voyager 8 release is yet another proof point that native apps have an important role in the future of our connected world.

If you are a forward-thinking developer or product manager who enjoys edge technology, apply to be a private release candidate tester at recursionsw.com/Voyager8.

-Vicky

1) They announce 5 Android smartphones and a Palm WebOS smart phone to be released in the coming months.

2) They also announced adoption of BREW MP for their mid-tier smartphones/devices and a strong focus on network enabling emerging devices.

Smart moves…Android has been exploding into the market since the beginning of Q4!
And the mid-tier devices are selling in enormous numbers in emerging countries and around the world in general.

3) The common theme around all these devices, including the 3 screens of life (TV, PC, mobile phone) were to get developers to build applications, and lots of them, across all of these devices!

Another smart move! At the end of the day…what will differentiate devices and networks, will be the applications running on them!

Android, iPhone, Palm WebOS, Symbian, Windows Mobile, LiMo etc…they all have touch screens…they are look cool…they all have WiFi, high-res cameras, lots of room for data…yada, yada, yada….

Whats the biggest differentiator…..the apps!!!!

4) So it came out loud and clear that ATT is really focused on providing an ideal environment for the developer to build and sell applications across all of these devices. So their store is a portal around existing smart phones stores and they are bring SDK’s and development tools to help developers solve the issue of coding applications that span all of these devices types and underlying software platforms.

It appears that they view applications as absolutely key to differentiating their networks, as they extend the reach of their Telco and WiFi networks to connect all current and emerging devices. IMOP, a very wise realization and strategy!

Now they need a software platform that allows ALL of these devices to share application data in real-time, over BOTH their Telco and WiFi networks….and do so without having to sending all data to the cloud/enterprise, and then pushing it back down again to the devices. And I believe they are starting to realize the wisdom of this too. After all, the goal for them (as well as all of the other carriers) is to drive network usage…but do so in an extremely efficient manner.

If the network usage is inefficient, it will slow down applications and require more and more expensive hardware, towers etc. to rectify. That leads to unhappy customers and more capital investment in their network equipment etc…Data usage is skyrocketing at a crazy rate, and its in their best interest to allow for the applications to share data between the devices intended, in the most intelligent and streamlined manner.

Why not leverage WiFi if the devices participating in an application, are all on the same WiFi network? Consumers, professionals and prosumers, simply want cool apps (and ALOT of them) that run fast, and allow for location-aware, real-time data sharing with their colleagues, family members and friends….they couldn’t care less whether its a Telco or WiFi network.

And with the explosion of networked mobile, embedded and sensor devices…the importance of this will only continue to rise. Indeed it is going to be a real battle between the likes of ATT, Sprint, Verizon etc! For that matter, it will also continue to be a huge battle between the handset makers! Carriers and handset makers coincidentally, have many of the same goals….lots of apps on their devices, that show off all their features and support for all of their different networks (Telco, WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC etc).

What I am seeing more and more is that they are all starting to realize the same thing….its all about all kinds of devices, running all kinds of data-intensive applications, and doing so while maintaining fast, reliable networks! Intelligent, fast, efficient, and easy to code, application processing and messaging, that leverages all networks available on a device, will be a huge differentiator for the carriers and the handset makers alike!!!

2010 is going to be a very interesting year for carries, handset makers and application developers alike. Who are the winners going to be…besides the consumer? Thats a tough one…. But IMOP, it will be ones with clearest vision of the future, and an intelligent, aggressive strategy and willingness to go down that road as quickly as possible! The Internet of Things is here and the stakes are extremely high! This will drive commerce for …well as far as the eye can see or the mind imagine!!

So carriers, handset makers, hardware/network equipment manufactures, and any company that develops, or uses, or wants to empower their mobile customers/employees… it is time to slam a few energy drinks and start your engines!

-Bob DeAnna

Bob will both discuss what he sees as potential barriers to the widespread adoption and availability of cloud solutions and how Recursion is addressing these challenges with our Voyager communications platform. Stay-tuned for a recap of his session and overall observations from CES.
– Vicky

2009 was a banner year for Recursion with the release of Voyager iPhone APIs, OSGI compatibility, and a beta release of Voyager C++ to compliment our existing Java and .NET support. The eminent release of Voyager 8 beta, which boasts Network Address Translation (NAT) support and dynamic discovery, only adds to our growing list of standard-setting features. To request a copy of the beta, sign up here at our website recursionsw.com/voyager8.

Stay tuned to this blog as we outline the capabilities and platform requirements that will enable a truly intelligent mobile world. In terms of what is pervasively possible, this is only the beginning.

— Vicky Romero-Gomez