MCL. We call it one of our secret weapons. Not so secret, because we talk about it all the time. It is even a secret amongst our competitors and people at Zebra. This secret is a little-known software product is called MCL.
So, what is it? It is a rapid program development tool for most computers, mostly Android devices from Zebra in our case. A way to develop sophisticated custom applications without being a programmer. Collect data and write it to a database. Read data from the same database and render it on the screen. Do this work over Wi-Fi or cellular networks. Read RFID data, parse it and write to a database. All powerful and heady stuff at a very low license cost per device. And since we are so proficient with the product, our ability to deliver complex applications for low dollars.
And better yet, the development license is very inexpensive, so if a customer wants to take on writing the application themselves, the cost of entry is a few thousand dollars. There is a learning curve to be sure, but you do not have to be a developer to do the configuration. Some customers for security purposes buy the development license for themselves but still have us do the development work.
So, how come we know about this product when others do not? Length of experience in the industry is the answer. You see, Symbol technologies (who became Motorola, who became Zebra) used to pre-license the product on their small mobile computers. Especially the ones affectionately known as Phaser. Why did they call it a Phaser? Well, you know, it kind of looked like a Phaser.
Zebra no longer licenses MCL on any devices from the factory. But we took the experience gained writing applications for Phaser scanners and have then spent the last 20 years building on that.
There are other rapid development software tools on the market, but we greatly prefer MCL due to its low cost, robust capabilities, and our great experience with the product, developing applications for our customers.
If you are looking a technology partner that has this level of expertise, to put together mobile applications at a fraction of the cost, and is willing to share this information with you, www.emptechgroup.com is always the best place to find us.