In three years, SilverLake Communications Inc. has pushed itself into the forefront of the paging software market.
Last year, the privately held Calabasas, Calif., company won a contract to provide its software to Paging Network Inc., defeating 25 other companies, that bid on the project, the company said.
PageNet now provides to its subscribers a user-friendly product called Pro Wireless Messaging Software. Users of the PageNet software can receive the same text messages on their alphanumeric pagers that can be sent to a personal digital assistant or laptop computer. In the last six months, PageNet has purchased more than 50,000 copies of the software, said SilverLake.
“We’re in the position where PageNet is referring us to every OEM (original equipment manufacturer) they meet,” said Alan Gould, director of business development at SilverLake. “We’re being handed accounts as fast as they can give them to us.”
The five-person company said it provides consulting services to companies such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and AT&T Corp., which are integrating SilverLake’s technology into their own.
SilverLake also has a relationship with PageMart Inc. It has provided the paging company with its software development kit that is available only from PageMart.
“We spent a lot of time targeting PageNet and PageMart. They’re walking us into retail stores such as Radio Shack and Comp USA. We’ll be bundling a program with every PageMart pager by Christmas … We’ll be in every retail store,” predicted Gould.
SilverLake’s line of software is called Airsource. It ranges from a simple alphanumeric paging launch application to wireless communication management-based groupware. The company said the product line is ideal for businesses that are dependent on alphanumeric pagers. PageMart resells the software package through its entire national retail chain.
One of the core products available in the software line is Airsource Pro for Networks. It provides a single, integrated system that manages all aspects of a business’ wireless communications management, said SilverLake. The program integrates message scheduling, e-mail forwarding, message tracking and analysis, centralized administrative control, support for unlimited contacts, paging carriers and length of message by linking these resources and their users to wireless dispatch for alphanumeric paging, said SilverLake.
The Airsource Pro for Networks Dynamic Data Exchange allows products such as contact management, calendaring programs, network management products and universal power supplies to be `page enabled.’ The program is preconfigured with links to ACT!, Goldmine, Maximizer, SideKick, cc: Mail and Microsoft Mail, said SilverLake.
The company said its Airsource Pro for Networks’ Wireless Messaging Server comes with an application programming interface to use for files coming from other operating systems. Other products include more simple applications such as the Airsource Lite, the paging launch application.
