"HailStorm is a key milestone to deliver on the Microsoft mission to empower people through great software, any time, any place and on any device," said Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and chief software architect. "We believe this innovation will take individual empowerment to a new level, create unprecedented opportunity for the industry and trigger a renewed wave of excitement."
HailStorm allows users to store and manage personal information and selectively distribute it to third parties. It will tie tasks such as e-mail, instant messaging, web browsing, address books and calendar appointments into subscription services accessed through a PC, PDA or mobile phone.
Microsoft described how HailStorm could be used to book a flight as an example of its application. HailStorm will help enable an on-line travel service to automatically access the individual's preferences and payment information. If travelling on business, a user’s affiliation with their company's HailStorm group identity makes it possible for the travel service to automatically show only the choices that meet the traveller's individual preferences and which adhere to the company’s travel policies.
Once the user has chosen a flight, the travel service can use HailStorm - with the traveler's permission - to automatically schedule the itinerary onto the specific calendar service he or she uses. Through HailStorm, live flight itinerary information can be shared with whomever the traveller designates, and can also be accessed through a PC, someone else’s PC, a smart phone, a PDA or any other connected device.
The HailStorm platform uses an open access model - which means it can be used with any device, service or application with an internet connection, regardless of the underlying platform, operating system, object model, programming language or network provider (Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, Palm OS, Windows CE, etc).