CompuSol puts biometrics in spotlight; Futuristic movie technology has practical applications

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By Courtney Hornsby

Think the cool technology agent Ethan Hunt used in “Mission: Impossible 2” to defeat the bad guys is far fetched? Think again.

A Fort Worth consulting company is slightly changing its focus to develop software using biometrics, which is defined as a measurable physical characteristic or personal behavioral trait that’s used to recognize someone’s identity. Such futuristic technology isn’t reserved for the movies anymore — it’s reality.

“It really is happening now,” said Christie Thornton, chief executive officer of CompuSol Inc. “We are in that phase of technology.”

CompuSol was formed in 1997 as a consulting company. It’s now a full information-technology service provider that does everything from writing software applications to staff augmentation. The private company is self-funded and has 25 employees. It plans to open a satellite office in Houston in the first quarter of this year.

Beginning this month, CompuSol customers can purchase a biometric add-on, using fingerprint technology for the company’s Remember software. Remember was written in-house and launched in December 1999.

“It’s going to be very popular,” said Kevin McCann, CompuSol’s president and senior partner.

Remember is a client tracking application that serves as a contact management, event tracking and financial/invoicing database. Its initial target was chamber of commerce offices and nonprofit organizations, but McCann said anyone who has client tracking needs could benefit from the application. Currently, 18 customers use the software, including the Burleson, McKinney and Oak Cliff chamber of commerce offices.

Remember didn’t receive the marketing push it deserved due to a powerful force of nature. Six of CompuSol’s eight offices in Mallick Tower were destroyed in last year’s tornado that devastated downtown Fort Worth. In addition to tornado damage, pipes burst in the building, causing CompuSol to lose 90 percent of its equipment. Despite the loss, the company found office space the next day and had everything in place less than a week later just to continue supporting its client base. But new business wasn’t a priority.

“Let’s just say it was something I don’t ever want to experience again,” Thornton said.

The idea of incorporating biometrics into the company was initiated in 1997 when Thornton and McCann worked on a project together for Mr. Payroll, a subsidiary of Cash America. They wrote an application using facial biometrics, which created an automatic teller machine, or ATM, that cashed checks. The device took pictures of individuals for identification.

CompuSol doesn’t create biometric hardware — it integrates already developed hardware with its own software. It’s in the process of developing a device that uses fingerprint, facial and voice recognition technology at the same cost. Thornton said the small device has a strong accuracy rate.

The company hopes its products will eliminate the need to type in a user ID and password.

McCann said 40 percent of calls to a help desk are related to password issues. Companies spend from $300 to $400 per employee because people forget their passwords. Biometrics, company officials said, could be used anytime a positive identification is required. This technology could be used in place of credit cards, Social Security cards or any picture ID and it reduces the chance of false identification, McCann said. CompuSol employees use fingerprint technology to log into the server.

“No one can take your fingerprint and use it,” Thornton said.

Compared to 1997, biometric devices are less expensive, making it feasible to include them in other products. Devices usually cost about $100, Thornton said.

However, a November 2000 report issued by Forrester Research Inc., a market research firm, claims the number of companies that plan to use biometrics for authenticating business partners and customers is small, and vendor predictions are overblown.

One reason is biometric costs are too expensive. According to the report, biometric devices are 25 percent higher in cost than smart-card readers built into keyboards. Both the cards and biometric devices are more expensive than passwords. In addition, not all passwords go away, meaning one application may use a biometric device while other applications still use the old systems.

The report did indicate a new generation of biometric technologies would emerge in 2003, threatening to make current implementations obsolete.

McCann said CompuSol plans to launch several applications that use a combination of biometrics. There are currently four projects being developed in house, but officials couldn’t discuss specifics.

What separates CompuSol from its competitors is its software integration into the hardware. “We have the experience to recognize the application of the technology,” said Carm Vecchio, senior consultant at CompuSol. “We recognize the importance of that technology. We know how to apply the technology.”

Both Thornton and McCann agreed biometrics would play a larger role with the company. CompuSol will wrap biometrics around all of its current offerings, McCann said.

However, he said retinal scanning is currently too expensive for practical use. Fingerprint technology is probably the most common form of biometrics and along with digital signature technology, it’s the least expensive.