Simplexo has introduced a product that lets users remotely search their desktop PCs from a smartphone, tablet or web browser.
Called SearchYourDesktop, the system enables users to search from any device running Apple’s iOS, BlackBerry and Android as well as the big web browsers; Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and Google Chrome. It can search through data held in Microsoft SharePoint and Exchange as well as websites and publicly held information on social network sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Any native data on the device, such as documents, PDFs or music can be searched as well.
Search is done through a single text box and results are displayed depending on where the data has come from. Files can then be viewed on the mobile device through the application. The host PC, which needs to remain on for the product to work, requires a bit of software to be installed.
Adrian Cooper, customer services director at Simplexo, said security is paramount to the product. "We’re not creating any form of connection directly from the device or browser to the PC. We’re doing it in such as way that we never have to open up that pipe and businesses don’t have to open up any firewall port."
Cooper added that the server used to process the search has no idea where the device is, no details of it are held and no data or credentials are held on the device. "If your organisation doesn’t allow you to open Exchange outside the firewall you can still search it securely, because the search is done via your PC, which is behind the firewall so you’re not breaking any policies," added Simon Bain, CTO of Simplexo.
SearchYourDesktop is currently available via a six month free trial, after which a one-off fee of £9.95 is required for the Home version, which lacks Exchange and SharePoint capabilities. There is also a free version which will have a 25MB per month download limit. An enterprise version is available for a £29.95 annual subscription, which includes unlimited downloads and support.
Simplexo eventually hopes to open SearchYourDesktop out to more data repositories, such as cloud storage apps like Dropbox as well as online CRM suites such as salesforce.com, Cooper told CBR.
