Wireless Definition and Solutions

Company name: Apperian  

Founded: January 2009

Location: Boston

What it offers: Apperian offers the ability to make the Apple iPhone a true extension of the enterprise network and data. Apperian does consulting, application development and is creating a set of enterprise application frameworks for mobilizing secure enterprise data, e-commerce and intranets as iPhone applications.

Why it's worth watching: Created by Apple iPhone veterans, Apperian is entirely focused on enterprise-class mobile applications for the iPhone. Its application frameworks promise to provide much needed middleware to support mobile e-commerce and services for enterprise iPhones.

How the company got its start: A group of Apple employees had been involved in building applications for early enterprise customers, but it wasn't a business Apple would invest in. The group decided to split off and create their own company.

How the company got its name: "App" from, well, app. "Ian" means "belonging to, coming from, being involved in, or being like something" but it's also intended to echo "sapien" as in "homo sapien" (literally knowing man or wise man).

CEO and background: Chuck Goldman spent eight years at Apple as director of field engineering and professional services, helping enterprise customers integrate Macs and iPhones. Previously, he founded Interactive Media Solutions, which created online recruiting tools for colleges and universities.

Funding: Apperian received $200,000 in founder and angel funding, and in July closed a $1 million round of venture capital led by CommonAngels, a group of private investors and limited partners in two co-investment funds. 

Who uses the product: Apperian has had several engagements, developing iPhone applications for American Greetings, DuPont and Timberland among others.

Slideshow: Good and wicked cool wireless and mobile companies to watch

Company name: Glide Health 

Founded: September 2009 launch

Location: New York City

What it offers: Mobile device access to electronic medical records, for both doctors and nurses and for patients. A subscription-based cloud service pulls data from third-party EMR systems, and reformats it on the fly for a plethora of mobile devices, operating systems, browser and displays.

Why it's worth watching: Glide Health offers healthcare practices of all sizes a cost-effective way to access existing medical data at patient bedsides or their homes. It leverages location data, auto-fill forms and other features to create a simplified workflow for highly mobile workers using a wide range of client devices.