‘Workspace Aggregator’ Touts Mobile Access To IBM i Apps

A Belgian company named Awingu is touting its capability as a “workspace aggregator” to deliver cloud-based access to a variety of corporate applications and data from any browser-enabled device. Among the applications Awingu says it can tap into and securely deliver are those running on IBM i.

The explosion of smartphones and other mobile devices is having a huge impact, not only how we live and play, but how we work too. Thanks to the rise of liberal bring your own device (BYOD) policies and mobile-enabled software as a service (SaaS) applications like Salesforce.com, many companies are not only allowing employees to access business apps from their mobile devices, but encouraging it too.

So-called legacy applications, such as older applications running on the IBM i platform, may need to be modified before they’ll correctly display on today’s handheld devices, let alone enabled for cloud delivery. Many ISVs are making these investments (both on the mobile and cloud front), either on their own or using one of a number of modernization tools that we cover in this newsletter.

But in many cases, companies are not updating the old green-screen applications that are still heavily relied upon in the day-to-day office grind. These types of workhorse systems are among those that Awingu is targeting with its workspace aggregator solution.

A screenshot from an Awingu presentation shows the various systems that users can access from mobile devices.

“Historically, it’s been too costly or difficult to migrate legacy applications to the cloud,” says Dirk Thomaere, vice president and COO of Awingu. “This has been the core barrier that prevents companies from fully migrating to a cloud platform.”

Awingu describes its solution as a “unified cloud desktop solution.” Users access the solution, which runs on Microsoft‘s Azure cloud, via any HTML5-enabled Web browser. Users are presented with a sign-in screen that’s protected with two-factor authentication. After signing in, a user is presented with access to a range of applications, which could include Microsoft Office products, Google Apps, computer aided design (CAD) programs, Evernote, and an IBM i terminal emulator.

“Many companies still benefit from legacy in-house applications like AS/400, but they also see the value of moving to a cloud-based platform to empower a mobile workforce,” Thomaere says. “Awingu’s central workspace addresses all these issues in a simple way, while allowing IT assets to be centrally managed with improved security.”

Awingu says its solution eliminates the need to adapt legacy applications to run in the cloud and also eliminates the need for local clients and local data stores running on laptops, tablets, or smart phones. The company touts that its solution enables “the freedom of BYOD and mass mobility while ensuring data security.”

Pricing for the service starts at $7 per user per month. For more information see www.awingu.com.