SimWorks has become synonymous with anti-virus software for Series 60 and UIQ phones. The company has been working on a mobile backup and social networking solution since 2001. At the start of 2004 SimWorks began to consider ideas for additional applications to compliment its existing product and re-use the Symbian OS application framework it had developed. "After considering several options it became clear that the best idea was to focus on securing the mobile experience for users," says Aaron Davidson SimWorks CEO. "So we started developing a full suite of security applications, such as a firewall and anti-spam, to compliment our backup product. When the first Symbian OS virus emerged we had the technology in place to offer users anti-virus software."

Aaron found the anti-virus community to be closely knit. "When we first started working with our anti-virus product there was a lot a of reticence from the established players to dealing with us. Not only were we not a anti-virus company but we were working with wireless devices not PCs," says Aaron. Persistence however paid off and SimWorks now regularly exchanges information with the well known anti-virus vendors.

Being based in New Zealand has created SimWorks challenges. "Symbian OS does not have a big profile in the local market," says Aaron. "We often find ourselves having to explain what it is and why we have chosen to develop for it." This lack of profile has a couple of practical implications. "There are not too many developers in New Zealand who know Symbian C++ so, while we have been keen to employ people with experience there have not been too many opportunities to do so," says Aaron. This has meant that many of SimWorks Symbian OS C++ skill have been acquired through a process of trial and error. "When we first started we did not know how to create a Series 60 application, so we just tried some stuff," says Aaron. "It sometime feels as though we have tried every wrong way of doing it before finding the right way. That was a long time ago now of course!"

A related issue is the availability of handsets. "We want to be able to test our software on as many handsets as possible, ideally all," says Aaron. "But the local market does not support a full range of high end handsets. While we get good local support from Nokia and Sony Ericsson they are still limited in what they can provide."

With the added security features in Symbian OS v9 does Aaron worry that anti-virus software will loose its relevance? "At this stage we have not seen enough detail to know whether Symbian OS v9 will be a solution to the virus issue or not," says Aaron.

The one thing Symbian OS v9 has meant to SimWorks is that it is now working towards obtaining Symbian Signed status for its applications. "There has been little reason for us to contemplate Symbian Signed status until recently," says Aaron. "To date we have been reluctant to make the investment in Symbian Signed unless we had too. Symbian OS v9 coupled with an increasing channel requirement for Symbian Signed means we now need to make that step."

Aaron also expects that Symbian OS v9 will have quite a significant affect on their applications. "When we started working with Symbian OS it was missing features we needed, so we developed our own. When v7 and v8 came along some of the features we had developed ourselves were provided in the OS, but it was easier to keep our own code," says Aaron. "Given the source code breaks I expect that the move to Symbian OS v9 will see us removing some of our own components and moving to those now provided as part of the OS."

Strangely, despite its profile in the anti-virus space, SimWorks main product is actually an over the air backup suite, SimWorks Subscriber Data Management System (SDMS).

SDMS offers both SyncML and Symbian OS based versions. The SyncML version provides basic support for a wide range of phones while the Symbian OS based Series 60 and UIQ versions offer the ability to backup any data on the phone. Most interest from operators is in the contacts backup and social networking capabilities of SDMS. "Operators still make most of their money from phones calls," says Aaron. "We are therefore seeing most interested in SDMS for its ability to protect a customers address book, which they rely on to make calls. What also excites operators is how SDMS can provide new ways for customers to obtain phone numbers, and so make more calls."

SDMS helps an operator's customer obtain new phone numbers, complete the contact details for people that they already know and keep the numbers in their address book up to date. "The service can allow you to find out who has your number and interestingly, who doesn't," says Aaron. "In the case of people that have your number you can easily have them automatically added to your address book by the service. In the case of people that don't have your number, you can simply send them an invitation to include your number in their address book." To ensure people do not loose touch when they change numbers an automatic number update feature can update all the address books containing that persons contact details.

There are also several "fun" features provided by SDMS. These include popularity indices which will give a customer a popularity rating relative to the other users of the system.

SimWorks has implemented SDMS as a public service at www.fonetango.com. "Fonetango allows us to showcase SDMS and get feedback from a user community and identify improvements within the product," say Aaron. "The goal however is to see SDMS implemented by mobile operators, as we simply don't have the resources to support hundreds of thousands or millions of users."

By identifying a niche in the Symbian OS space SimWorks has created an international profile which transcends its size and geographical isolation. While malware is an irritation to some (and occasionally worse for other) it has allowed SimWorks to raise its profile and create interest in its core products with much less effort than may have been required otherwise. So it would seem the cloud created by Symbian OS malware does have a silver lining.

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