Schlumberger

Schlumberger is considered a pioneer in the smart card arena. They were one of the first companies to acknowledge the usefulness of the smart card. Schlumberger entered the smart card market in 1979 with the purchase of a 34% stake in the company Innovatron. Between that time and 1983, Schlumberger proved that smart cards had very practical applications with payphones and financial terminals through their research with companies such as France Telecom. In the two-year time frame of 1985-1987, Schlumberger went from a total worldwide sales of one million to ten million smart cards. In 1989, they penetrated the Asian market with their first orders of payphone smart cards from China and Taiwan, respectively. In 1992, Schlumberger received their first major contract from the French banking industry, to provide financial smart cards. Schlumberger achieved notoriety in the United States market when they acquired Malco, propelling them to the status of number one in US bank card sales. Probably the most remarkable of Schlumberger's accomplishments in the smart card industry was the introduction of the world's first Java-based smart card, Cyberflex. Because of its introduction, Cyberflex propelled smart card innovation to greater heights. Java-based smart cards would now allow endless possibilities because of their flexibility and functionality.

Today, Schlumberger provides smart card solutions for the banking industry with such products, created by their joint venture with VISA, as VISA Cash. The product is well known in the US as a debit card. The card is used to deduct funds directly from your checking or savings account. Schlumberger has also provided practical applications to many other industries such as the following: Municipalities - With its mass transit ticketing systems, pay and display terminals, and vending machines; Public Telephony (mentioned earlier); and Identity and Health - with smart cards that contain a patient's current medical history.

The aforementioned only scratch the surface of the applications and solutions provided by Schlumberger. Schlumberger is a strong company with its eyes to the future.

Bull

Bull is the next of the major players in the smart card market. With impressive revenues both inside and outside of France, Bull focuses on total smart card IT solutions. Bull has been involved with the smart card market for more than twenty years. Bull was created in 1978 through a joint venture between Motorola and M.Ugon of Bull SC&T. Bull also holds a 15% stake in Innovatron, which explains its early entrance into the smart card market. Bull possesses more than 1200 patents for their smart card operating systems and related products.

In 1978, Bull hit the market with the world's first microprocessor card, the CP8. The uniqueness of the CP8 card is its ability not only to hold large quantities of information in its chip, but to also perform calculations. This feature distinguishes the CP8 card from other simple memory cards. The CP8 card can memorize data and past events. This fact, coupled with the CP8's ability to carry out cryptographic calculations, makes the card highly secure.

Bull's most recent addition to its smart cards is the Odyssey line. The Odyssey cards are Bull's answer to Java-based smart cards. The Odyssey cards offer new opportunities because of Java's independence from its hardware. The Java-based cards also provide added layers of security via applets, signatures and encryption. The Odyssey cards also lend themselves as multi-application cards. Being Java-based also lends to ease of programmability, which results in a quicker "to-market" time.

Bull offers its services to many of the same industries as its competitors. In addition, Bull has entered into the customer loyalty and Pay TV markets, with many more applications planned for the future.

Gemplus

Gemplus is a leading manufacturer of magnetic, memory, and microprocessor-based smart cards. Gemplus provides development for the entire solution of its clients' needs. They not only supply the cards, but also work with their customers to provide hardware and software for the client's specific needs.

Gemplus offers several types of smart cards. Their "contactless" smart cards, the GemEasy line, provide a smart card solution where a short transaction time is critical. Their OpenCard framework provides a Java-based solution to its clients. Because of their Java-based card, Gemplus has forged an alliance with IBM create Java-based smart card solutions. Through this joint venture, IBM now offers a smart card that protects its laptops' security. It prevents unauthorized users from gaining control of the system. Gemplus is also working with Microsoft to create a smart card for Windows, a move that is sure to prove successful for both companies.

Even though Gemplus is a company of youth, it has proven itself in the smart card world as a viable competitor. It will remain strong for years to come.

This information only offers a glimpse at the development of the smart card market. Many companies are teaming up with smart card development companies to introduce a greater array of smart card implementations. With institutions such as Citibank, American Express, Ernst and Young, Mobil Oil, Motorola, Omron, Siemens, and even the US Government investigating the possibilities of smart cards, we will see the future of smart card development grow exponentially.