REACH
was created with the single objective of extending the reach of applications.
It is a concept that has now taken the shape of a framework, created by Ramsoft’s
research team over many years and based on needs envisaged on a variety of client
domains and applications. Present
day users would like to access information, easily, quickly, any time and at any
place. This calls for applications to be accessible through familiar gadgets,
fast gizmos and every day devices. In short, this translates to applications supporting
a wider range of devices and modes of communication. Starting from mobile phones
to PDAs to set-top boxes to television remotes. Or backbones ranging from Telephone
to Cable, RF & voice networks. No need to add that simple communication tools
such as emails, browsers and Instant Messengers are integrated with applications
to better tap their power. This is exactly what REACH aims to achieve. | | REACH
is a framework that will help existing applications to extend, connect and integrate
better so as to increase and improve their end-user reach. The idea is not to
reinvent wheels or recreate similar functionality. But to make the already available
data, functionality, or service accessible to as many as possible. REACH makes
this task easy - a framework with robust architecture and well designed structures,
layers and modules that has made implementation of exciting services or creation
of new services look almost effortless. |
Any-time
or Real-time access to information: There is a huge difference between getting
information and getting it whenever the user wants it, in Real-time! Most of the
current systems are largely web-based while a few have extended it to IVR-based
service over telephones. However, commonly used devices like cell, pager, the
TV (through cable network) are not included. Only by having a suite of interfaces
to these commonly available devices, will the Real-time access be properly put
to use. REACH precisely aims to do this. When-‘I’-Want
access to information: Current web-based or IVR based-systems over the telephone
are largely subscription-based, delivering information to the user at preset intervals
of time, or based upon preset conditions/events. These can be intrusive to the
user and may be a major irritation over a period of time. When-‘I’-Want access
is user-friendlier, which is how the user wanted it in the first place (else,
the purpose is lost). He/She is now forced to bear with these intrusive services,
in the absence of a better alternative. REACH precisely understands this issue,
and will address it neatly. Reach:
REACH uses mechanisms that are commonly available for interfacing like Cell Phones,
Instant Messaging etc. Later versions will provide interfaces to most day-to-day
devices like Phones, TV remotes (through the Cable network and set-top boxes),
Gaming consoles (like the X-box, Play station, Nintendo), PDAs, hand-held computers
etc. The reach plays a key role in advertising, financial transactions (like buying/selling/trading),
customer support (will be a key differentiator), and information access or retrieval
from a variety of databases. Day-to-day
devices: REACH shall involve multiple modes of communication like cell, telephone,
web, etc. parallely, to provide information requested by the user. If the reach
and real-time features can be provided only through expensive, ‘to-be-acquired’
devices, then the end users would not be keen on that. As that would call for
additional expenditure. For example, current users of cell-phones that are WAP-enabled
can still access WAP-enabled services and portals to process some information.
However this is a small section of cell-users and to the vast majority of them,
any-time access to information is still difficult, and rare.
| | Security:
Transmission protocols used in cell-phone based communication support brief and
intermittent access to the network. This is a lot more secure than web-based services
where the connection is available for the entire duration of the session, making
it more vulnerable to hacking. Further, other parameters like the cell-phone number
being used for identification, as well as login names and passwords ensure a high-degree
of foolproof security. Extension
of your applications: Similar web-based B2B or B2C services are proprietary
or customized in nature, connecting specific users to specific applications. Further,
every new idea dictates the need to rewrite some or whole of existing applications.
But there are innumerable programs already available. REACH focuses on extending
your applications without touching its basic functionality - thus increasing your
'reach' without having to redo much on the application end. A
'Layered' Framework: REACH as the name clearly implies is a framework. The
way in which the framework is designed, gives us the ability to easily add new
devices, or introduce other transport protocols, or give hooks to existing/new
applications. Any newly added interface becomes a part of the other interfaces
in the framework and hence, works seamlessly with them. Thus adding reach and
functionality to applications steadily, over time. Businesses are saved the hassle
of porting and migration, and will have a strong, but flexible framework, to widen
the scope of their service. Huge and existing databases/applications like CRM,
SCM, SAP etc., can be integrated into the service, without having to create newer
applications for each of the services provided. |
