Red Bend Software has combined its vCurrent Mobile and vRapid Mobile products into a single solution for mobile software management. The company says the combined product, called vRapid Mobile, is the industrys first MSM client capable of managing any type of software on any mobile platform or device. It says the new solution makes it easier for customers to move from updating firmware as one complete image, to supporting advanced use cases where embedded software is managed by individual components. In addition, new features enable management of built-in and downloadable applications.
vRapid Mobile enables device manufacturers, mobile operators and software developers to independently manage their software assets on mobile devices in a unified and standards-based way across mobile platforms. With firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updating, says Red Bend, manufacturers can reduce support costs and increase consumer satisfaction by remotely updating firmware with software improvements and new functionality. By managing software components over-the-air (SCOTA), operators can increase data revenues by adding and updating branded applications and service enablers in embedded software, without requiring a complete maintenance release. Using application management, software developers can speed time to market of new applications and versions, faster than handset replacements cycles, by independently managing built-in and downloadable applications and their software dependencies.
Mobile software and applications are major drivers in the continued advancement of mobile phones, so ensuring that both firmware and applications can be updated and managed is key, says Chris Hazelton, Research Director – Mobile and Wireless at The 451 Group. As device vendors, mobile operators and now ISVs look for opportunities for growth in a period of slowing device replacement cycles, the ability to update and manage features of an installed base of devices over the air becomes critically important.
Version 6 of vRapid Mobile allows FOTA-enabled devices to be updated over the air with
SCOTA capability. It includes a single Update Generator that can produce both
firmware updates and software component updates. It supports managing applications in read/write memory, as well as optimising the delivery of application updates by up to 97%, minimising bandwidth for over-the-air updating of mobile applications. It also works with any mobile platform, and complies with standards from the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA),
including Device Management (DM), Firmware Update Management Object
(FUMO), and Software Component Management Object (SCOMO).
Existing Red Bend vCurrent Mobile customers can upgrade to vRapid Mobile FOTA version 6 for no additional fee. Launched in 2003, Red Bends vCurrent Mobile is currently is deployed in more than 475 million mobile devices.
A Whitepaper published by global market intelligence and advisory firm IDC and sponsored by Red Bend Software finds that Mobile Software Management can create new revenue opportunities for mobile operators, device manufacturers and software developers. Titled Beyond FOTA: Advancing Mobile Software Management to Next-generation Services, the Whitepaper describes how the mobile ecosystem can remotely manage software assets on mobile devices by adopting new standards and deploying new technologies. You can download the Whitepaper here.