What a miserable, grey and drizzly day... But there’s always some brightness in the gloom – if you know where to look...
Digging around my usual sources I found something that stirred my interest – big time. It is by no means an exciting business - in fact, it operates in a field that is actually quite dull. However, it’s the potential for this company that really caught my eye... And the fact that it had produced something that is quite unique...
It's a penny share tiddler called Advanced Smart. The group makes smartcards – an established business area – but this company’s product is like no other - it looks set to lead the way into the next generation of cards.
A smart card is essentially any pocket-sized card that contains embedded integrated circuits and various tamper resistant properties. You probably have one in your wallet or purse right now in the form of a credit or debit card. So, of course, chip and pin is nothing new - microchips have appeared in credit cards in France since 1992. But this company believes that the type of smartcard this company will produce will be radically different – and I do too...
On Monday, Advanced Smart unveiled an impressive set of full-year results, with pre-tax profits in the 12-month period to 30 September 2006 rising to £273,000 from £111,000 and operating profits up 92%. The company’s technology is called Multefile – and it is radically different from the main players in the smartcard arena.
Multefile is not specific to a particular market sector and can be actively managed by the card issuers themselves. The card can be applied to the payment, transport, anti-counterfeiting, government identity, GSM biometrics and health and welfare industries... It really is a smart card.
One big advantage for potential clients is that the card issuers can amend, add and delete functionality through a series of drop-down menus. This means that the company will not have to reissue cards to change details or functionality. This, obviously, should drive down costs. It also allows for the introduction of niche applications alongside the more mainstream.
Multefile is not limited in its physical form. Not only can it be used in conventional contact and contactless smartcards, but also in a variety of other smart devices such as near field communications (NFC) mobile phones.
NFC is a short-range wireless technology, which is used to track stock by retailers. The tags inside phones could have personal information stored in them and so could act as car keys, money, tickets or even travel cards. The company is also planning to significantly invest in its marketing efforts, timed to coincide with the new Multefile product releases.
The group’s Chief Executive David Braddock was upbeat on prospects going forward as he unveiled Advanced Smart’s record annual figures - and I share his excitement.
Multefile makes the chips in smart cards work together with the software on terminals and business owners can create and maintain their own smartcard and smartcard-related applications as easily as building a spreadsheet.
This is indeed revolutionary as it could radically lower the costs of development and ongoing maintenance. Although an emergent technology, we like what this company is offering – but it still has much to prove. Advanced Smart is definitely one to keep your eye on.
Watch this space...
Melissa Carroll
for The Penny Sleuth
