Business applications of WAP

One of the most recent and significant changes in the business environment has been the growing demand for mobility. This means that customers, partners and employees should be able to access the information resources and services of a company wherever they are and whenever they want. In response to this demand, the wireless application protocol (WAP) was developed. In 1997 and 1998 WAP was being discussed as a possibility. Standards were set up and development was under way, and in 1999 a variety of WAP enabled products were released, making this a reality. By 2001, WAP v. 2.0 was available, and along with improved handsets advanced mobile services can now be made available, making mobile application delivery a reality. Users can make a call, check their calendars, schedule appointments, book tickets and send confirmation e‐mail, all using a mobile phone. This is just one of numerous examples of what this technology has made available. WAP has been slow to take off with consumers, but with continuous improvements and improved bandwidth the number of users is steadily increasing. Businesses have also been slow with making applications available that will appeal to the mass market, but with WAP 2.0 perhaps this will start to speed up. This paper looks at the development of WAP, how it works and what the major advantages and disadvantage