LANSA's LongReach app is new, secure, and—best of all—free!
A free native app from LANSA now lets road warriors manage and securely upload and synchronize mobile data from iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch devices to the IBM i. Dubbed LongReach, the application is installed on smart phones and tablets to support the management and transfer of business data between the devices and i servers, said Madan Divaker, product manager.
With the app, users can sync information between the iPhone and an IBM i when appropriate and do so seamlessly, Divaker said. Specifically, it lets companies extend data collection tasks for line-of-business (LOB) applications at the location of the data, he said, noting it was built for the mobile workforce to help increase the efficiency of business operations.
The app can be used, for instance, by field personnel capturing customer data using an iPad. For example, an insurance assessor can take photos, video, and/or audio of an accident scene and send the data back to a LOB application, said David Brault, product marketing manager.
"The app lets data be captured on the device, moved to the IBM i server, and eventually tied back into RPG programs so it is all intertwined together," Brault said.
Figure 1: LANSA’s LongReach lets users sync information between their iPhone and an IBM i.
LongReach is designed to securely transfer and synchronize such data with an IBM Integrated File System (IFS), which lets users access information in real time. It also offers an optional notification of successful delivery to the server via a message queue, triggering processing of folders and files by IBM i LOB applications. The notification signals the availability of data to an automated business process for a simple method of integrating mobile data collection into business processes.
What makes it different from other free apps like DropBox is the fact it offers file-to-file management in a secure way to an IBM shop, where they are already familiar with how to manage the data on the sever. Indeed, data can be securely managed using the normal IBM i security, Divaker said.
"You also have the ability to leverage existing assets, such as programs and…leverage those programs without having to re-create them for a mobile application," he said.
In addition, transmitted data has built-in security, so the communication between the data being sent by the naked mobile app to the server is encrypted and compressed, Divaker said.
"So when the data resides within the application, that also is encrypted and stored on the device," he said. "So the data itself is encrypted, and the connection can be secured as well. So you have High-Speed Downlink Packet Access [HSDPA] where data is secured, or you can run a secure connection with all of the data being secured."
The app also offers a refresh feature that updates the mobile device's view of folders and files on the IBM i, without having to download files or folders. After refreshing the view, users can choose which folders and files they wish to download to the mobile device.
Plus, it's free. Brault admitted the public has asked why they would build an app, spend the money on developing and testing, and then give it away. He said they did it to meet the need of RPG developers who were under pressure to offer mobile apps to end users but had no way to do it.
"Some companies have tried to build Web applications that had been optimized, brought the footprint down, so it fit nicely on to a smart phone screen. But it is not the same as having a native app," Brault said. "The native app market for the IBM i has been largely ignored, and we had the skill set to build LongReach and give it away for free."
Indeed, the market will continue to grow, Brault said. The company recently completed a customer survey about their native app needs that showed they are requesting mobile apps that interact with their core business applications. In addition, 80 percent of respondents said apps built had to be integrated with the IBM i.
The need has been proven by the popularity of LongReach, given the company has done no advertising to promote it and there already have been more than 400 downloads.
"We haven't put any advertising into the product, only word of mouth and social media outlets like LinkedIn," Brault said. "I think it speaks to the needs for native mobile apps for the IBM i marketplace."
The current version is available at the Apple App Store for tablets and phones. The company plans to release an Android version in the future, Divaker said.
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