Taking the WAP.
Dataflow slates rivals for failing to keep up with latest technology
Dataflow slates rivals for failing to keep up with latest technology
Staines-based accounting software provider Dataflow has become the first company to bring a WAP-enabled enterprise accounting package to the market – and blasted its rivals for ‘struggling to keep up’. This week the company is all set to demonstrate its Dataflow-32 based software following a development period of a month. Many experts believe WAP technology will revolutionise the way accounts are monitored and Dataflow IT director David Pipe believes that the invasion of WAP is likely to become increasingly evident over the next 12 months. Pipe said companies such as Sage, Tetra, Pegasus and Multisoft would find it difficult to offer a similar product. He said: ‘Our product will be available at the start of July. Some companies haven’t seen the opportunity as quickly while others have based their products on old 1980s DOS versions dressed up with a Windows front which will not easily support integration. ‘WAP phones will become the new laptop and we believe that it is important to provide our customers with the ability to take immediate advantage of this exciting new technology’, he added. However, a Sage official said the company was still confident of its position at the forefront of technology. The company said: ‘Sage is looking at providing a service on the wireless network. We are evaluating the alternatives and are looking at net providers to work with us to deliver content to both mobile phones and other wireless devices such as palmtops. ‘This is a natural extension of our internet strategy and if our customers wish to have their services delivered by WAP technology we will endeavour to provide them with that service.’ Dataflow has said that it had been able to WAP-enable its Windows/NT accounting suite easily because ‘it was a true 32-bit Windows solution’. Dataflow-32 is able to support five to over 100 users and supports Microsoft SQL Server.