MIS Magazine: Smartpath included in Australia's Top Ten Rising Stars for 2010

Read the profile here: http://www.misaustralia.com/viewer.aspx?EDP://20091101000031683414

See the listing here: http://www.misaustralia.com/specialeditions/strategic100.aspx#

How we selected: The 10 Rising Stars are often very new businesses, but ones that show signs of seriously influencing the way technology is bought or deployed. Many of these companies can expect rapid growth, to make acquisitions, be acquired, or otherwise significantly increase their presence in the marketplace over the next 12 months. This is an early warning to take note of companies that are already impressing savvy CIOs. The list was compiled after suggestions were made by our expert judges throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

MISRisingStars.pdf

CASE STUDY: A Compelling Case for SAM

by Martin Thompson on July 29, 2009

in Case Studies, SAM

An Overview of a recent Software Asset Management (SAM) and Compliance Consultancy from Australia.

Smartpath SAM Services is an Australian based specialist Asset Management consultancy. Smartpath recently completed a SAM and License Software Compliance consultancy for a major Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) listed company, the results of which has transformed the way in which the company now views its software assets.

The perception seems to be that the larger the organisation, the more advanced that company will be in its software procurement, the management of its software assets and its compliance responsibilities. After all, it stands to reason that large companies have the financial means to adequately resource all areas of their business and that senior management is aware and on top of any potential business risks. Right? Wrong!

The reality is, at least as far as SAM is concerned, senior management and boards are not yet  aware of  the risks associated with poor SAM practices and the potential risks of using unlicensed software. These risks are more around the monetary costs to the company of achieving a compliant position once under-licensing has been identified, which are not provisioned in operational budgets, and which can severely impact profitability levels.

Phil Hare, Smartpath

In addition, software vendors may seek damages including:

• Copyright infringement - Unlicensed reproduction of the software;
• Compensatory - For the benefits derived by the business in using the vendor's software which the business didn't own;
• Other damages - eg. a deliberate and flagrant course of conduct by making the infringing copies and using them for business purposes.

Collectively, it becomes not only a cost issue but potentially a significant reputational one as well.

Fortunately, whilst Smartpath's consultancy identified that the ASX listed company was in excess of a $AUD1,500,000 (~ $US 1,200,000 ) under-licensed, no damages were sought by the vendor. Unfortunately, this should never have happened in the first place and may not have if proper and robust SAM practices were in place that had the support and visibility of senior management and the board.

On commencement of the consultancy, the company was found to have approximately 1600 computers comprising desktops, laptops and servers.

The inventory tracking tool, SMS, was found to be over 90% deployed across the IT estate. However, the tool was being used to identify hardware and the license management feature, which could have recorded owned licenses, was not being used. Instead, there were separate and multiple Excel spreadsheets being used by various parts of the business in an attempt to record software usage, which failed catastrophically because critical information was not centralised or reconciled and no one had overall responsibility for keeping the information up to date.

In addition, Smartpath established that the company had a Standard Operating Environment (SOE) which was pushed out to new personnel that the company had acquired and when refreshing hardware. However, because there was no visibility of licenses owned the SOE was pushed out progressively to new employees and refreshed computers without the correct and corresponding licenses. Smartpath established that in fact the company only had a 108 license entitlement  in a specific application but yet it had been deployed to an additional 1300 devices for which no licenses were owned.

As a consequence, the company could only produce a very small amount of Proof of License (POL) documentation, which ultimately contributed to the $AUD1,500,000 under-licensing gap.

Smartpath identified the following key areas of deficiency that contributed to the significant under-licensed amount:

• Knowledge of SAM was very limited within the organisation
• IT policies and procedures were basic, not updated and not communicated throughout the organisation
• The company had been very active in acquiring businesses that were already under-licensed and had not undertaken due diligence in relation to licensing risks
• The company utilised MS SMS but only to identify hardware and software assets. No software reconciliations were undertaken with owned license documentation, which resulted in no visibility of applications that were being used but for which no licenses existed

Since the consultancy, the company has gone through an overhauling of the way in which it manages its software and hardware assets and has allocated specific SAM responsibilities throughout the company to implement and manage a SAM practice. Smartpath made a number of remedial recommendations following the consultancy and outlined a SAM blueprint in line with the requirements of the ISO 19770-0 Standard.

http://www.itassetmanagement.net/2009/07/29/case-study-a-compelling-case-for-sam /

Smartpath and Valorem partnership to help with maintenance management

 http://www.factorymaintenance.com.au/article/smartpath-and-valorem-partnership-to-help-with-maintenance-management/491345.aspx

Sydney companies form a tag team

Sydney software developers Smartpath (www.smartpath-software.com) and Valorem www.valoremsystems.com) have joined forces to offer facilities and building managers a site, asset, and people management solution. Jon Tinberg, managing director of Valorem, said the partners aim to help organisations manage facilities and assets from procurement through to disposal by way of a secure, access-anywhere, Web-based system.

The offering will be built on Valorem's Praxeo SaaS solution for site processes and people management, and Smartpath's Loc8 asset management system.

  Smartpath joins forces with Valorem for complete management solution

22 July 2009 SMARTPATH and Valorem have joined forces to offer a complete asset and site management solution to the facilities, building and maintenance management disciplines.

The partnership's solution is to have Valorem's Praxeo site process automation software and Smartpath's Loc8 asset lifecycle tracking software working together.

According to Smartpath and Valorem, the joint solution will help organisations manage facilities and assets from procurement through to disposal through a secure access-anywhere web-based system.

The Rust Report - Business Briefs

  IT and Web services company Multibase has entered a partnership with Smartpath. Under the terms of the deal Multibase will offer the Loc8 asset, maintenance, and mobility management software-as-a-service to its clients. www.mbase.com.au

http://tc106.metawerx.com.au/Rustreport/rustreport_jul17_09.pdf

Tuesday 26 May 2009 00:00
James Thomson, Patrick Stafford and Brad Howarth

Hot 30 under 30

They're smart, they're young, they're tech savvy - and they're not afraid of the downturn. Meet SmartCompany's Hot 30 under 30 - a group of 30 entrepreneurs aged 30 years and under who are on their way to becoming Australia's next generation of business leaders

Nearly every business on the list has revenue of $1 million or more, and while technology focused sectors such as online (seven members), information technology (six members) and digital marketing (six members) dominate, there are entrepreneurs from the retail, telecommunications, hospitality and health sectors

So why has this bunch of entrepreneurs risen so far, so fast? Here are five secrets of the Hot 30 under 30

They are immersed in technology

Ben Keighran, a San Francisco-based internet entrepreneur who was listed on last year's BRW Rich 200 with a fortune of $28 million, taught himself programming at the age of 10 and started his first website (an electronic bulletin board service called The Zone) at the age of 13

This group of entrepreneurs represents the first generation that really grew up with a keyboard in their hand and they are using this to their advantage, particularly with businesses built around social networking and collaborative technologies

They understand how Australia's economy is changing

The great trend that is changing Australia's economy is outsourcing, by households, business and government. A number of entrepreneurs on the Hot 30 have seized on this, building businesses in areas such as on-site IT support (David Hancock from Geek2U), personal services (Erica French from Fit2Date), health (Tristan White from Physio Co), education (Marcus Sellen from Selmar Institute of Education) and even something as simple as picking a utilities supplier (Leon Hayes from Switch Select)

They understand global market

Good friends Ruslan Kogan and Dean Ramler have built online retailing businesses around the ability to source cheap goods from around the world in the areas of electronics and furniture. Their businesses rely on strategies that underpin globalisation, such as low-cost sourcing, short supply chains and clever use of technology.

They start small and dream big

A number of entrepreneurs on the Hot 30 have built strong businesses from very humble beginnings. Take Andrew Northcott from Labour Solutions Australia, who started by hiring himself out as a labourer and now runs a business with $3.8 million in revenue.  Or Saxon Mitchell, who runs events company Venue Management Services. He started out as a waiter-for-hire, working out of a spare bedroom that he grandly called "Suite 2".

They are young

Yes, it's obvious, but in some industries being young is a big advantage. Around 20% of the members of the list work in advertising and marketing, where young and creative executives are prized for their fresh and original ideas.

SmartCompany would like to thank everyone who nominated for the Hot 30. We had information on many fantastic entrepreneurs who we are sure have big things ahead of them. If you didn't make the list this year, we hope you'll be back bigger and better in 2010.

Meet the Hot 30 under 30:

Nathan Aherne

In 2005 he co-founded Reddog Technologies with Jason Rudolph, another non-IT geek who had previously worked as an electrical engineer. Read more on Nathan Aherne.

Nick Armstrong

In 2005 he established the green power retailer Greentricity with a business partner, and from there developed the idea of COzero, a business he launched in late 2006 with another partner. Read more on Nick Armstrong.

Owen Batt

Age: 30
Company: Smartpath
Sector: Information Technology

Smartpath co-founder Owen Batt and business partner David Hodges built a business by finding something that its clients hated doing.

The company designs products to help companies organise their assets in easy-to-access databases. It has branched out into the cloud computing sector, with many of its programs now offered as "software-as-a-service".

The firm's clients include Fuji Xerox, AMP, Qantas and several hospitals. It says competing with larger rivals such as IBM puts pressure on it to keep promoting its brand during the downturn.

The company says it will continue to work on offering SMEs cheaper SaaS solutions. It recorded $1.84 million in revenue during 2007-08, and expects $2.5 for the current year.

Luke Berry

Innovative Solutions Oceania operates four divisions ranging from toys to sports marketing and property investment. Read more on Luke Berry.

Robert Castaneda

CustomWare has over 70 staff, offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Wellington and revenue of around $8 million. Read more on Robert Castaneda.

Alana Chang and Lauren Chang Sommer

The sisters have turned their four-year-old company Moi Moi Fine Jewellery into a multimillion dollar business. Read more on Alana Chang and Lauren Chang Sommer.

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/entrepreneurs/20090525-hot-30-under-30.html

Calls for software purchases to be included in small business tax rebate

Thursday 21 May 2009 11:55
Patrick Stafford

Tax experts and software developers are puzzled over the exclusion of software from the Government's small business tax break, arguing businesses might be misled when buying new hardware.

David Pring, tax partner at Deloitte, says that businesses must keep in mind that when purchasing a new computer, hardware and software are calculated independently.

"Our concern is that so much equipment has a software element that it seems almost an odd scenario. What this will lead to is questions being asked about whether other assets containing software will be affected as well," he says.

"The people it will hurt the most are people who buy a computer for $1200, but it has $300 worth of software on it - therefore they will not qualify for the break, because the concession is for assets above $1000."

Pring says the Government's concern is that businesses would take a copy of the software and put it on a second machine, effectively using two copies of the one asset.

But he says the exclusion of software could hurt businesses that count on the tax breaks, and that even stand-alone software products should be eligible.

"Medical equipment has software that is needed - will that be included? People in their mind say ‘I'm buying a computer', not ‘I'm buying a computer with extra software', so that needs to be kept in mind," he says.

"We think stand-alone software applications should be included as well. I can't think of a good reason why they shouldn't; it would seem that any business that's investing in improving their productive capacity should claim that allowance. All it needs is a small amendment."

David Hodges, co-founder and managing director of software development firm Smartpath, says that software should "absolutely" be included in the break, especially the asset management software his company provides.

"Software is a depreciated item and is treated as an asset in organisations. The exclusion of that in the tax break is disappointing," he says.

"Particularly for us, enterprise software is generally purchased outside of a piece of hardware. Ours is a cost-saving piece of software; we would have expected especially products like ours to be included because it can save money.

"Having encouraging organisations to spend capital, I thought that was the whole idea of the tax break."

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/internet/20090521-calls-for-software-purchases-to-be-included-in-small-business-tax-rebate.html

Owen Batt, CTO, Smartpath, collects Manufacturers Monthly Highly Commended Award, Technology Application of the Year

Smartpath highly commended in manufacturing awards

We are delighted to announce we were awarded ‘Highly Commended' in the hotly contested Technology Application award of the year category, hosted by Reed Business and Manufacturers' Monthly magazine on May 13 2009.

We built a Fibre Management System for cable tracking cable manufacturer, Corning Cable, to track the manufacture of cable and deliver corporate Best Practice using our Loc8 asset and maintenance management software.

http://www.manmonthly.com.au/article.aspx?articleid=481135

Taking care of your assets
Friday 08 May 2009 00:00 Patrick Staffor

Most entrepreneurs begin by looking for a great idea. But David Hodges of software firm Smartpath started out by searching for something very different - he tried to find something that people hate doing

"I came out of an IT services background, and asset auditing was the thing we did very badly. I had an idea around that business, and hired a developer to build some software around that.

The business quickly transformed from a services company into a software vendor after Hodges saw a gap in the market for asset management software

"For example, we go to hospitals and put barcodes on assets, collect that information, and provide it back in a database format," he says

The company also provides the same solutions via internet-based software-as-a-service, which Hodges says has set them apart from bigger competitors such as IBM

"We feel there's a gap in the market. There are large organisations like IBM offering high-end solutions at a high-end cost, and small organisations giving feature-poor solutions over the web, and we think we fit somewhere in the middle.

The company mostly targets SMEs. It recorded a revenue level of $1.84 million in 2007-08, and expects $2.5 million for 2008-09, equating to roughly 35% growth

Competing with the larger player

Hodges says that while the company's products are sharply priced, Smartpath struggles to compete with large, multinational corporations with recognised brands

"We have a brand awareness issue," he says. "We have a good solution to provide, but being recognised as a credible software vendor based in Australia is challenging.

Hodges says the company must fight an uphill battle to convince clients Smartpath is a viable alternative, and that bigger isn't always better.

"There have been scenarios where we put in contractual obligations to give the customer comfort. An example is putting source code into a safe area, so if  our business were to go under, it gives them comfort that then the product would still survive," he says

"But we feel we can fit in between there as a second tier player which supplies most of the features that those large organisations do.

Pushing forward in the downtur

Despite these brand recognition issues, Hodges says the company is surviving during the downturn - in fact, he says this is the company's best year. But coping with the new economic environment has presented challenges.

"I think we saw a slowing of sales or sales activity late last year that picked up again early this year," he says

"Businesses now have slower decision-making timelines, so there are certainly more sign-off processes required, and people are paying slightly slower," he says

"Many were talking to us last year about capital budgets drying up and becoming more difficult to get. So we realised we had to change and implement new sales strategies

"We look at the current downturn as an opportunity to consolidate our offering a little bit more in our space, while there are low capital budgets. If we don't change our strategy we're offering, or making tactical changes, we're missing opportunities.

"In some cases we're offering leasing solutions to the companies which don't have capital budgets to get the software in there and provide the financial benefit they'll get out of that software.

Hodges admits that the software vending effort of Smartpath has "missed a lot of opportunities", but says the company's key to surviving the changing economic environment is to simply change along with it

"Roll with the market. You can't live in an iron lung and make decisions without the market around you. I stay focused on your solution and ensure you believe in the product you're delivering.

But Hodges says nothing a business does will be useful unless a company monitors its revenue mix closely. "Pay attention...only pursue products and services that are worth the company's time."

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/information-technology/taking-care-of-assets.html

Smartpath opens in UK for Europe push

Global economic crisis or not, Sydney-based company Smartpath has pressed ahead with its planned expansion into the UK with an eye on Europe. From its newly-established office in London the company will market its Loc8 asset and maintenance solution with the sweetener of a Opex-not-Capex purchasing plan, which enables clients to pay over 12 months.

Smartpath aims to build a channel network in the UK and eventually throughout Europe, noted Philip Hare, the company's international partnering director.

"In many markets, including Australia, we're looking for strategic partners to use their specialist and in-country knowledge to drive sales. However, in others, such as the UK, we see great benefit in having a physical office location."

Hare said he believes the time is right for the expansion. "We see 2009 as the time that people are looking to extract maximum value from existing budgets and investments instead of simply purchasing afresh, and we believe our Opex-not-Capex model will prove a very attractive proposition."

Mobile workers add asset and maintenance management to their bag of tricks

Without doubt, mobile working is now a standard among sales and senior business executives; however, many organisations are starting to recognise the benefits that can be gained from ‘mobilising' more operational staff. These now include field service personnel or regionally based staff through using PDAs and smartphones with data links to communicate with the head office.

Consequently, the increased focus on mobility has translated to new products and applications that allow greater freedom and improved productivity.

Automation of the asset and maintenance management functions for field service technicians is proving to be a rapid growth area for businesses. Automation of these functions has many advantages in streamlining business processes resulting in significant bottom line savings in many areas of business, which translates into a rapid and compelling ROI.

Mobile workforce solutions for asset- and maintenance-related work processes are aimed at increasing productivity and reducing operational costs. Specifically, mobile workforce job tasks include managing service requests and work orders, and material and tool usage, for both predictive and preventative maintenance.

Handheld devices can include validations that allow or disallow data entry. They can also provide the user with historical information pertaining to previous service orders or particular pieces of equipment. Furthermore, barcodes, timestamps and scanners attached to handheld devices enable quick identification of devices and equipment, identify points of entry and exit, improve efficiency and minimise human errors.

Benefits

The application of mobility solutions in the asset management and maintenance markets provides many far-reaching benefits to all organisations who manage assets. Service providers too can reap the rewards of mobility by dramatically increasing service response times and reducing costs.

Some of the benefits that can be derived via the application of mobility solutions applied in the asset management and maintenance sectors include:

• Speed resolution with complete information access - enable agents to access and update complete customer, product and service request information.
• Respond quickly to last-minute schedule changes - provide agents with updated schedules while on the road. Enable agents to anticipate additional requests with complete information about all installed products.
• Replenish parts based on actual inventory levels - enable agents to view parts on hand, order new parts, and view order status to reduce costs associated with over- and under-stocking.
• Speed billing cycles - enable agents to record time, labour, materials and expenses upon job completion, so the billing process begins even before the agent returns to the office.
• Dispatch - work orders in real time.
• Support - provide better support information to your customers.
• Additional sales opportunities - additional revenue opportunities from turning your service people into in field salespeople.
• Improve - spare parts inventory management.

The return on investment (ROI) example

Even on a very conservative estimate, mobile asset management provides a compelling ROI, which is no doubt contributing to the rapid adoption of workforce mobilisation by businesses of all types.

Smartpath recently developed a model based on a customer's live scenario and even reduced the amount of claimed business efficiencies to produce a conservative model. The results were that on a capital outlay of less than $100,000 for an asset management and maintenance system, savings of up to $1.9 million can be achieved with an ROI of 921% over two years and a payback of the software investment of just 2.4 months.

The bottom line

Mobility solutions for asset management and maintenance field service-related businesses will deliver a competitive advantage in your market, allowing your team to further differentiate your organisation from your competitors. The application of mobility workforce solutions to your asset management and maintenance field service operations will:

• reduce paperwork and improve data accuracy by receiving and documenting dispatched inspections and repairs
• lower costs by reducing time, expenses and errors associated with manual or paper-based processes
• allow access to location information, compliance history and specific details about customers
• allow you to modify remote worker processes in real time
• deliver rapid return on investment (ROI) through dramatically increasing operational efficiencies and reducing costs.

*David Hodges is Managing Director at Smartpath, a developer of asset management software.

Smartpath 

Smart50 rank: 22
Founders: David Hodges, 37; Owen Batt, 30
Based: New South Wales
Employees: 22
Industry: Information technology
Website: www.smartpath.com.au

Business ideas can come from anywhere. Smartpath founders David Hodges, 37 (far right), and Owen Batt, 30 (above), found their niche by specifically looking for something people hated doing. They settled on documentation management and data collection and eventually moved into asset management systems.

The company's flagship product is Loc8, which allows users to track, manage and maintain their assets. There are versions of the Loc8 system for small companies, large businesses and service providers, and clients include Qantas, Fuji Xerox, AMP Capital Investors and a host of schools, hospitals and government departments

Perhaps the best example of the power of the Loc8 system is Smartpath's relationship with clothing company Cue. Hodges and Batt describe themselves as Cue's "technology partner" and say Loc8 has replaced more than 40 of Cue's old spreadsheets and home-grown databases to improve operational workflow and communications. "We manage workflow of raw fabrics through to design, who will cut, design and manufacturer, how it will get to the warehouse and then into the store."

Hodges and Batt say the biggest problem when building the business was sales and they realised they needed to shift their focus from being a service-based company to a product-driven one. "We started out as a services business and realised that people buy into a product business more, because it seems more legitimate and credible."  

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/The-2008-SmartCompany-Awards/Smartpath.htm l

Professional asset management consultancy, Tolerro, has signed up to deliver Smartpath's Loc8 asset management, maintenance and help-desk management solution to small to medium-sized businesses.

http://afr.com/home/login.aspx?EDP://20080624000020821205

http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn/news/2235076/smartpath-uk-europe

Smartpath to UK and Europe

 

 

Antipodean software developer seeks UK sales for its asset management portfolio

 

Written by Fleur Doidge

CRN, 26 Jan 2009

Australian asset management software provider Smartpath is hunting for an office location and reseller partners in the UK to tackle the European market.

Phil Hare, partnering and marketing director at Smartpath, said he arrives to open its first UK office in March and source suitable partners. Interest is already being received from resellers, he added.

"The UK is a good market and a bigger market, compared to Australia. Australia is a broad and shallow market, because of all the various states [in the country], and can also be hard to service," Hare said.

While Smartpath is still expanding in Australia, the company feels ready to spread its wings overseas, choosing the UK as a springboard for a Europe-wide push. Currently, Smartpath favours possible sites near Birmingham, Hare said.

He also plans to visit the Institute of Asset Management.

"We are on the lookout for partners that will help to generate interest and make my life a bit easier," Hare said. "And we are looking really for specialists that know asset management."

He claimed Smartpath's Loc8 products are different in some ways to what is already available here and competitively priced. It offers web-based and mobile workforce management options.

Loc8 was deployed by St John's Grammar School in Sydney in mid-2008.

Dustin Fisher, infrastructure and ICT manager at St John's Grammar, said the school needed visibility into its asset and maintenance management to uphold safety standards while having access to a helpdesk system that was easy to use and improved overall efficiency.

"Schools are accountable for student and staff wellbeing so infrastructure and equipment must be well maintained," Fisher said.

Asset disposal services from Smartpath Asset Management

 Smartpath Asset Management  is a reputed company that has developed a range of cutting edge asset management solutions. Smartpath Asset Management works with partners like AutoDesk, the ARA Group, Adobe, Centennial Software's, Grabba International Pty Ltd, Microsoft Corporation and William Buck to deliver and implement its range of asset management software.

Smartpath Asset Management along with its partners delivers efficient and effective asset auditing solutions to clients using Loc8 and Loc8 Mobile. These solutions from Smartpath Asset Management include data collection, asset valuation, asset disposal services and asset validation for any type of asset irrespective of the industry that it is used in and its location. The specialist audit teams at Smartpath Asset Management are familiar with the intricacies associated with corporate, manufacturing, technical and industrial environments.

The Loc8 software developed by Smartpath Asset Management provides a comprehensive set of tools that ensure that audit services are conducted quickly, accurately and consistently. Some of the benefits of engaging Smartpath Asset Management to conduct an asset audit are that customers can upload existing asset information for auditing and define the information to be collected. The template based data collection procedure ensures consistency of data.

Smartpath Asset Management can tailor its services to suit any audit requirement and provide fast, cost effective and accurate data collection services along with detailed daily audit reports.

http://www.ferret.com.au/c/Smartpath-Asset-Management/Asset-disposal-services-from-Smartpath-Asset-Management-n772349

SMARTPATH has partnered with Macutex to release a new software program for managing acquisition, maintenance and disposal.

Macutex will use the software to aid internal property and facilities departments in collecting audit data. The software will help in analysing the data to find non-compliance issues, and provide a centralised web-based management system for assets.

Currently, many companies use a combination of spreadsheet databases and in-house systems for the tasks. These cannot automate maintenance processes, predict weaknesses or identify risk among asset portfolios.

The software will replace these outdated systems to manage buildings, plant, equipment and infrastructure. It will also be used to conduct audit programs, project delivery, performance assessment and improvement, data management and reporting.

According to the developers, the product will help improve safety, environment, risk, disability access, asset conditions, carbon emissions and security.

http://www.industrialit.com.au/Article/Collaborative-software-to-centralise-asset-management/204057.aspx

AIR to breathe new life into web applications

David Flynn
March 4, 2008
Next
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Mark Blair, technical director of Adobe Australia, at the launch of AIR in Sydney.

With the launch of Adobe AIR, developers are experimenting with applications that live partly on the web and partly on your PC. David Flynn reports.

Online applications are set to go offline and bust free of the browser. It's the next stage of development for Web 2.0, as web-based applications make an evolutionary move that's equivalent to our Paleozoic ancestors crawling from water to living on dry land.

This new software species combines traits such as a rich web interface and tight integration with online data sources, but runs as a fully featured desktop program, which can be used even when there's no internet connection.

Spurring that development are technologies such as Adobe AIR, launched last week.

"AIR allows people to take an application that they use online, and continue use it on the road, in an aeroplane or anywhere there's no connectivity" explains Mark Blair, technical director for Adobe Australia. "When you go back online, any changes you've made are transparently synchronised with the server".

There's no need to start coding from scratch: AIR works with current web-centric development toolkits such as AJAX, Flex and Flash, in order to quickly plant web-based applications on the desktop. Blair cites CRM (customer relationship management) powerhouse and Web 2.0 poster child Salesforce.com as one example. "They've built a library of components which allow developers to create apps that use the salesforce platform offline".

It is a hot area for big players at the moment. Google is also championing the dual online/offline model through its Google Gears project. Microsoft is pushing its Silverlight/ Windows Presentation Foundation package, and Mozilla is developing an open-source version (see box).

Adobe's approach has been to completely remove the web browser from the equation. Many developers consider this a huge step forward for web-based applications.

"There are discrepancies between the browsers, so you have to test your applications on different types of browsers and different operating systems to make sure the presentation and integrity is correct" says Todd Trevillion, chief executive of software development house Gruden in Sydney. "With AIR, you just write once and distribute to many platforms. I don't think we'll see the death of the browser, but we'll see a lot more applications exist in a middle space between the browser and the desktop. You get to keep the rich experiences you've got in the browser and move that to the desktop, which creates a new type of way to work with the internet."

Gruden is already working on AIR-based products for several clients including Disney and Macquarie Bank. "With Disney we're looking at a heap of creative campaigns that will utilise online and offline (elements) using desktop widgets. For Macquarie we're looking at an internal client-facing application, which looks at the different types of products and funds they have available".

Also eager to tread AIR is Sydney-based Smartpath, whose Loc8 asset management system is used by clients including Multiplex and Spotlight.

Loc8 is already offered as a conventional desktop program and an online "software as a service" package, but a new AIR-enabled version of Loc8 slated for mid-year release will "bridge the gap" between those versions, says Owen Batt, Smartpath's technical director.

"You've got these occasionally connected road warriors auditing asset data, and we can sync the data they collect on their laptop or tablet PC and have it seamlessly uploaded back to the Loc8 server the next time they connect".

Beyond applications, Mr Trevillion believes that forms will also benefit from a dose of AIR.

"A lot of our financial clients have a form-based sign-up process, and with AIR you can start to fill out a form online, pull your PC off the network and retain that information. You can complete it in your own time, anywhere that may not be in a connected area, then connect back to the internet and the form is sent to the main server."

Nor does Adobe consider AIR as being limited to the desktop and notebook platforms. "From the very beginning of AIR development we were thinking about how to make sure this technology would run on mobile devices" says Mr Blair. This includes a partnership with Intel to deliver AIR for the forthcoming family of mobile internet devices due later this year.

Internationally, AIR is being used by Deutsche Bank, eBay, the Nasdaq Stock Market and The New York Times.

NASDAQ Market Replay allows replays of market activity at any time. The New York Times' application, ShifD, allows users to shift content between computers and mobile devices, and Deutsche Bank's application alerts customers immediately of account activity.

WHAT IS AIR?

Adobe AIR offers a way for developers to take existing web-based applications, which only work inside a web browser with an active internet connection, and turn them into conventional desktop programs that can be used regardless of whether you're online.

Data is stored on the PC and an internet server, with automatic synchronisation so users don't need to worry where their files are stored or if they're up to date.

Several technologies aim to deliver the same result but using different methods. Google Gears will allow services such as Gmail and Google Docs to be used offline but still relies on the web browser as the medium for using those applications.

Mozilla's Prism offers a way to run web applications as if they were desktop programs, including launching them from the Windows start menu.

Microsoft is spruiking its Silverlight/Windows Presentation Foundation environment. Although Silverlight made its debut as a competitor for Adobe Flash and Flex, the forthcoming Silverlight 2.0 release will use Microsoft's .NET programming tools for creating desktop versions of web applications to run on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Adobe takes to the AIR with a passion

Everyone cares what hardware you're using to play music and movies. iPods, it hardly needs to be said, are big business and a Trojan horse for Apple's move into music and video distribution.

But, below the radar, another battle is going on between the software players that sit on your PC desktop.

While you might not care whether you're playing a video file with QuickTime or Windows Media Player or one of hundreds of others, it's all part of the war for control over media distribution.

And another player, Adobe, has just joined the war, with its own stand-alone media player - still in beta but due for official launch soon.

Mark Blair, Pacific technical officer at Adobe, says the PC-based media player could be revolutionary. "We're not calling it TV 2.0 but we feel it's in that kind of space," he says.

Adobe is already an invisible leader in online video distribution: its Flash technology makes YouTube work.

But the media player takes Flash technology from the web onto the PC, in optional high-definition, full-screen format.

"We didn't have a desktop Flash video player of our own - if you wanted to watch it you had to use the web or third-party software from a company you've never heard of," Mr Blair says. "But Flash video is becoming ubiquitous, so it was unusual not to have one."

The player is built using Adobe's new AIR technology - indeed, it was used internally to "prove" AIR - and comes as a 3 MB install, which compares favourably to the more bulky QuickTime or Real alternatives.

But the value of the software to Adobe goes beyond its technical specs.

"Having looked at the market we found we could do something more than just a desktop video player," Mr Blair says. "There was the opportunity to do something exciting, to give us some differentiation."

Incorporated from day one is a "catalogue", which is the front end to ambitions for a full video-content distribution system - music videos, documentaries and TV shows - just like Apple's more hefty and well-established iTunes.

But unlike Apple, Adobe is giving content distributors more control about the way their videos are viewed.

They can use simple RSS (really simple syndication) code to "brand" the player with images and text, and to insert context-sensitive advertisements into a video feed as it plays and make a video more interactive.

American network CBS is playing with the system and there is also interest from non-traditional media sources such as Wired magazine and Lonely Planet.

Mr Blair admits it's early days and the platform will stand or fall based on the content it can gather. But he's already planning version 2.0. "I can imagine in the future we will be able to use this to integrate into social networks and to rate and share videos - this is a 1.0 release."

- Nick Miller

 http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/air-to-breathe-new-life-into-web-applications/2008/03/03/1204402367712.html