Antenna's Volt Looks To AMP Up The MEAP Market

The Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP) space continues to stay hot with the increasing number of mobile devices landing in employee hands. If not managed properly, the task of tending to smartphones and tablets used in the enterprise has the potential to be as frenetic as herding cats. Antenna Software answers the challenge of the consumerization of the workplace simply and elegantly; it's new Volt app is designed to turn potential chaos into business advantage with an HTML 5-based utility that can be highly customized for individual business needs.

Lately, I've been getting swamped with updates by vendors that basically sell control of mobile devices for the good of the enterprise. The methods sometimes vary, but the song is usually somewhat the same as this market seeks to strike a balance between the new-found freedom that smartphones and tablets give users and the potential problems such freedom causes for the folks who care about things like security, time management and staff getting work done as efficiently as possible. Despite Volt's familiar ring, the folks at Antenna Software did a good job of showing me the differentiators that their new management app brings.

For some readers, the quickest way to explain Volt is to point out that it is the technology that AT&T rebadges as its Workbench platform. For those not familiar with AT&T's Workbench, here's the skinny: Volt is the iOS/Android app that gets downloaded and installed on client devices.

After it connects to the Antenna Mobility Platform (AMP), which is either hosted or local, the magic starts. Volt becomes a framework unto itself within the mobile device, creating a border within which enterprise apps can be run. Which enterprise apps? That would depend on the enterprise in question.

When Volt connects to AMP initially, the mobile business apps assigned to the individual user or class of users is pushed down to the client device. Antenna's model pushes the flexibility of applications built on HTML 5 and JavaScript, so the same app works within Volt on either iOS or Android devices.During my demo, I pulled down Volt from the Apple's App Store and ran it on my iPad. After logging in to Volt, I quickly saw a few applications that were provisioned to me to show the tool's basic functionality. As I spoke to Volt's product managers on the phone, they quickly assigned me a few more applications live over the network, and in just a few minutes I was equipped with a productivity suite as if I was part of a typical company. And it all lived within Volt, not bothering the rest of the iPad. When Volt is launced, the Web apps contained within are invoked.

Other than the AT&T Workbench example, it's easy to envision the power of Volt for private companies with specific needs and apps to be pushed. Apps within Volt can hook into the native resources on the mobile device to leverage the integrated camera or GPS, or to access the device's file system if appropriate.

Single-sign-on sorts of features are possible, with the ability to integrate nicely with the likes of Oracle and Active Directory in the corporate back end. Volt can be rebranded by whomever is using it, and also opens up clever marketing opportunities. Picture your local MegaMart pushing its own app in its own colors and logo, with promotional features that are time- and location-sensitive. Add powerful analytics on app usage through the AMP dashboard, and effectiveness of deployed apps can easily be reported on.

Any Web development tool used for HTML 5, JavaScript and CSS work can be used to make Volt apps, which can be directly published to Volt-equipped devices--bypassing the app stores. Administrators decide who gets what app, and the confines of the Volt client provide a range of security features. I was impressed, as my iPad with Volt installed is still my iPad, but the virtual turf in the Volt client is sovereign territory of "the company." It's a nice balance.