Smartspace Software Share Discussion Threads

[colsmith] 14/2/2007 20:03

WJ - re M437 - Multifile is as claimed a complete set of software tools for the the creation, installation and change control of application code on cards and terminals. An OS (*), which is run time code, takes developed code from a separate software develepoment system, which as in the Multifile case has software parts sitting and running under that OS (i.e. Multifile software parts). In that sense the Multifile is a managment and build control software application providing on an automated basis what can be done now in a less automated way in the Hitachi product.

*or application platform as they state as there will be an underlying OS on the card and terminal just as Windows sits over MS DOS.

ecebs state they automate the production of code from business requirements and so provide what I guess can be considered a complete life cycle process for the development, deployment and generational update of applications software. Hitachi presumably have seen the benefit of this solution as adding something that is not currently available in their products - a complete AUTOMATED life cycle solution. ecebs also state multilfe software interworks with industry standard application platforms such as MULTOS. So I guess in a few words their claim is that Multifile provides for the RAPID development, deployment and ongoing change control of application software.

This announcment of putting ecebs code into Hitachi card chips and terminals seems a significant move and as Multifile is not limited to MULTOS (they state) it would seem to have wide application! The question then is - is Multifile the most flexible and effcient software tool set?; presumably Hitachi decided it is!

[wjccghcc] 14/2/2007 18:39

Short-term I doubt it will add much in the way of revenue. As Garth quotes above (and from my experience with IGP) most smartcard projects take a good 2-3 years from tenders to ramping up the rollout. Hitachi aren't paying them anything up front so I suspect it will be on a per card issued basis. Also, given that it's one of the several card applications Hitachi offers, it will probably only be suited to certain types of project (wish we could find out more about this).

I can't find much info on the kind of smartcard contracts Hitachi has been doing - they've certainly not been on the radar screen for any ID/smart card projects I've looked at. I think they might be lower down the chain i.e. supplying the card chips to the smart card companies (G&D, Gemalto etc.) but I'm sure Garth will ferret out more info.

Having said that, it certainly adds to SMRT's credibility and shows they can make a name for themselves outside Scotland :-)

[garth] 14/2/2007 15:55

Bonty,

without access to an up to date broker note I have no idea what the forecast profit for this year is built on. Previous comment from SVS doesn't even hint at anything like today's announcement. No real suggestion of the possibility being flagged up in the final results statement either. Where does today's announcement fit into this:

"We continue to win repeat business from existing clients and add new ones to our portfolio. In this regard we are developing working relationships with these
clients on a longer-term basis, some of whom are large blue-chip organisations.We are also progressing a number of agreements with industry or sector representative organisations which would incorporate Multefile(TM) in their standard requirements providing exciting opportunities for future business
growth as Multefile(TM) would become an underlying technology for these
initiatives.
The Group is also being asked to participate in the tendering process as the
smartcard technology provider with prospective partner organisations in large
international projects. Whilst the gestation period for these tenders can be
long - anything up to 18 months - the fact that organisations are approaching us
with a view to including Multefile(TM) in the early stages of these projects is
testament to the growing interest offered by our unique technology."

G.

[bonty] 14/2/2007 15:03

Garth - Excellent news, but no mention of money ?
Do you think this improves the chances of making the predicted profit for 07 and 08 ?
B.

[garth] 14/2/2007 11:40

4.28/4.3 spread now for smaller quantities....

Edit: and back down we go....

[garth] 14/2/2007 11:09

Blueliner,

Post-results I have not seen any updated note from SVS which I hold as bad form - but perhaps they have been delaying with announcements such as this one in mind?

G.

[garth] 14/2/2007 11:06

WJ,

I'm no expert on software or on Smartcard operating systems. I'm not certain what advantages MULTOS has over others. It and Javacard are open source. I don't know what comparable degree of flexibility Javacard has.

You are right - the Multefile software is supposed to be much more simple to use when adding or editing applications. As you have pointed out on here previously, the ability to add or edit is a common feature.

From the piece you posted:

"Multefile's 'on-card' components are available, as application software running on Industry Standard MAOS's such as MULTOS. These
appear as applications to the card platforms but are in fact Application Environments from which multiple applications can be created and
maintained ultra rapidly."

Hence 'middleware': between the MAOS and the other applications. As cited, MULTOS already allows for adding and editing, so why are Hitachi bothering to add a middleware level of software, at further expense? I guess the very fact that that question arises also provides the answer - Multefile must, as claimed, make substantially easier what MULTOS could already do on its own.

Kind regards,

G.

[blueliner] 14/2/2007 11:02

What about an update note from the house broker SVS
or are they still asleep

[wjccghcc] 14/2/2007 10:29

garth, not sure that's correct. Multos cards, by definition, can have applications added, edited and deleted post-issuance. e.g. From the Hitachi smart card website.

MULTOS
Multi application smart card

MULTOS is a multi application operating system for a smart card, which can load or delete multiple applications on a card securely even after the card is issued. MULTOS specification documents are available at the web site of the MULTOS consortium.


It appears Multifile is more a simplified way of programming the card. From the Multos website:


MULTOS Applications
Ecebs Ltd
Ecebs are an advanced technology company specialising in Smartcard software development and solutions. Our Aim is to make Smartcard
enabled projects technically and commercially successful for our customers and partners.
Multefile consists a suite of software components that, enable Smartcard schemes to come to market, far quicker and with lower cost than
using traditional approaches.
Multefile represents a major advance in the simplification of the use of Smartcards in a similar way to how spreadsheets brought to fruition
the power of PC's'. It allows you to devise, implement and manage your own smartcard products by circumventing today's prolonged
development processes. By automating the process of converting your business's functional requirements into running code, Multefile
directly empowers Card Issuers and their System Integrators by giving them the means to create and maintain their applications for card
and terminal simultaneously and in timescales unheard of until now.
Through the innovative use of best practice methods and software design, Multefile all but does away with the prolonged and laborious
process of technical development. Now business owners can create and maintain their own Smartcard and Smartcard related applications
as easily as building a spreadsheet, thus radically lowering the costs of development and ongoing maintenance.
By supporting multiple applications and multiple application management post issuance, Multefile provides new levels of flexibility in
accommodating varying business needs. It more easily and quickly implements changes to requirements for both the existing card base
and terminal infrastructure.
Multefile consists of a suite of software tools, and configurable run-time code modules whose behaviours are data-driven, in other words
"programmable programmes".
The key advantage is most of the software needed for any smartcard scheme is already written leaving the biggest effort as simply the
analysis of the business's requirements to be embodied in these "programmes", and then to configure accordingly.
Multefile's 'on-card' components are available, as application software running on Industry Standard MAOS's such as MULTOS. These
appear as applications to the card platforms but are in fact Application Environments from which multiple applications can be created and
maintained ultra rapidly.
All of Multefile's features have been designed to radically lower the cost of smartcard development and ownership and improve the
flexibility of any scheme thus improving the business case for smartcard deployment.
Contact Details
Ecebs Ltd
James Watt Building
Scottish Enterprise technology Park
East Kilbride Scotland G75 0QD
Tel [phone]
Fax [phone]
[e-mail]
www.Ecebs.com

[awilson] 14/2/2007 10:26

It will be interesting to see if the Herald and Scotsman do anything more positive than re-hashing the press release.

[garth] 14/2/2007 10:12

Yup, up another notch and the spread has narrowed a little. These have been flying well below the radar and I would expect the significance of this morning's news to take a little time to trickle out.....

G.

[niggle] 14/2/2007 10:07

Finally a bit of positive action :O)

[garth] 14/2/2007 09:23

WJ,

If I understand you, are you asking how many other providers of MULTOS are used by Hitachi?

If so, my answer would be that Ecebs are not providing MULTO OS to Hitachi as far as I am aware. Multefile is a piece of middleware that sits on top of any of the available Smartcard operating systems. In this case it is MULTOS and it is in the original development of that operating system that management's roots appear to be.

What this contract suggests to me is that Hitachi have taken a licence to sit Multefile on top of their existing MULTOS OS on their chips. What that will provide is the opportunity for their customers to easily add, edit or remove applications without any considerable expertise and without the need to recall and re-issue cards.

In practice that would mean that they can ship banking cards to Mastercard et al with a MULTOS OS, add Multefile middleware and thus provide the opportunity to add Paypass or any number of other applications far more easily at a later stage.....

Any where near what you wanted WJ?

G.

[wjccghcc] 14/2/2007 09:11

It's certainly good news Garth although it seems Hitachi are offering it as one of their Multos options rather than exclusively. Do you know how many other Multos providers they use as well?

[colsmith] 14/2/2007 09:08

Great news and demonstrates the companies products are into a growing and huge worldwide market developing. Interesitntg to see if the wider market see this yet.

[garth] 14/2/2007 09:06

WJ,

It is indeed. Reckon it'll be just the first. Barry Hochfield was there in the early days of developing MULTOS......



Background:
"MULTOS is an open standard for a high security multi-application smart card operating system, that allows card issuers and service providers to share space on a single chip platform with a range of applications ranging from Payment, Authentication, Digital Identity, Biometrics, Loyalty, and Contactless Ticketing. In November 2005, the MULTOS technology was acquired by a group of strategic investors, consisting of Oak Hill Venture Partners, Keycorp, Hitachi and MasterCard International. However the governance of the MULTOS standard is managed and developed by "The Multi-Application Operating System COnsortium" (or "MAOSCO") consisting of 14 of the world's leading smart card companies. MAOSCO requires that all MULTOS products be functionally type approved and security evaluated to the highest achievable levels of assurance against a consistent set of requirements. As a result, MULTOS products enable third party smart card application or card management system developers to provide a broad catalogue of solutions that can be deployed consistently across all implementations of MULTOS. As of now, over 50 million MULTOS smart cards have been issued in over 30 countries, in projects ranging from Banking, National Identity, Campus, Secure ID and Transit."

Ecebs partner Royal Bank of Scotland are still using Mastercard/Paypass in trials at their HQ. Keycorp alredy partner Ecebs on ICAO compliant biometric passport. I'd love to know all thats going on in the background....

G.

[spud] 14/2/2007 09:02

M5

No that's the Institutional tap which has matched my buy.

spud

[wjccghcc] 14/2/2007 09:00

That's more like it.

[rcktmn] 14/2/2007 08:59

Great news ! onwards and upwards!

[m5artin] 14/2/2007 08:57

Was it that 100k sell , spud?

[spud] 14/2/2007 08:32

Just taken an additional 100k.

spud

[garth] 14/2/2007 08:27

Phil,

It illustrates growing credibility aswell as opening up a significant new revenue stream. £8m SMRT has its core technology bundled into Hitachi's MULTOS banking cards......

Can't help smiling. :0)

G.

[philjeans] 14/2/2007 08:14

Great news; playing with the big boys now and will assist profile and credibility.

Leaving the 4p marker well behind (in the guard's van).

[garth] 14/2/2007 08:07

Up at the open, horrible spread, but moving up quickly ;0)

G.

[garth] 14/2/2007 08:03

Woof! :0)

Advanced Smart Re Agreement


ADVANCED SMARTCARD TECHNOLOGIES PLC

SIGNIFICANT NEW MARKET CHANNEL

14 February 2007
Advanced Smartcard Technologies plc (RIC: SMRT/L, the "Company"), the Scottish
based software group specialising in smartcard technology, through its wholly
owned subsidiary Ecebs Ltd. ("Ecebs"), is delighted to announce that it has
reached an agreement with Hitachi Ltd. ("Hitachi") for the use of the Company's
core smartcard technology.
Under the agreement, Hitachi, one of the world's largest suppliers of secure
smartcards for banking and other applications, has taken a licence to
incorporate the Company's MultefileTM technology into their chips that are
loaded with the MULTOS high security operating system.
This will be an added benefit to Hitachi's customers, as the addition of
MultefileTM will greatly increase the utility of the Hitachi smartcard chip as
far as application flexibility is concerned.
David Braddock, Chief Executive of Advanced Smartcard Technologies commented:
"We are most pleased and excited to have this co-operation with a global player
of such standing. This is akin to putting MultefileTM on the shelves of a
worldwide retail chain.
This arrangement represents another strategic step in developing our channels to
market. It creates a channel where users of Hitachi cards can easily procure
and deploy Ecebs' core product, Multefile, thus gaining all the benefits of
enhanced security and flexibility and consequently protecting their investment."Peter Jones, Business Manager of Systems Solutions Division, Hitachi Europe Ltd.stated: "We see the inclusion of Multefile in our secure MULTOS package
smartcard offerings as a differentiator in winning new business in many
different markets such as banking, retail, security and public sector. We are
delighted to have an association with Ecebs and have access to their excellent
technology." -ends-
.......................

Worth a read of the notes to editors....

G.