IDG News Service - IBM's India Research Lab has developed a location-based service for mobile phone users that helps mobile users to connect with both fixed and mobile businesses in their vicinity.
When deployed by mobile phone service providers, the business finder technology allows a consumer to find and use the nearest, most highly rated and available service vendors like plumbers, electricians, carpenters or doctors, a spokesman for IBM India Research said Tuesday.
The technology has already gone through pilot trials with some mobile service providers, the spokesman said. IBM is currently in talks with service providers for the commercial deployment of the technology, he added. "As a research organization, we are not directly involved in the commercialization of the technology," he said.
The business finder technology combines geographic information system (GIS) applications and data analysis with mobile telephone networks to provide information to a consumer who is looking for a specific nearby service, IBM said.
The technology stands out from others in its ability to connect to mobile businesses and vendors that may be in the vicinity when a service is required, the spokesman said. The ability to rate vendors and businesses on a number of parameters including reputation is an added benefit, he added.
It combines various attributes including location, reputation, dynamic workload and feedback from consumers to match consumers with the closest available vendors. The underlying technology allows telecommunications service providers to track and update data sources including mobility, presence and reputation of service vendors, IBM added.
The business finder technology has a service-oriented architecture and is based on IP Multimedia Subsystem telecommunications standards.
The technology could be hosted by a network operator or deployed as a third-party service to different operators.
IBM India Research Lab has operations in Delhi and Bangalore. Some of the research of the lab is in the area of bridging the digital divide and e-governance projects. It is for example working on the National Health Data Network, a project with the Indian government to establish standards-driven, secure and cost-sensitive infrastructure to coordinate health care information.
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