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Will 2007 Finally Be the Year of Mobility?

IDC seems to think so. Sure, there are some hurdles that remain to be cleared, but a reasonable amount of interoperability already exists. Mobile devices themselves are finally powerful enough to handle just about anything business app we can throw at them. The real question is, when will enterprises realize this and adopt the technology that's going boost their business into the next realm?

IDC seems to think so. Sure, there are some hurdles that remain to be cleared, but a reasonable amount of interoperability already exists. Mobile devices themselves are finally powerful enough to handle just about anything business app we can throw at them. The real question is, when will enterprises realize this and adopt the technology that's going boost their business into the next realm?
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When speaking with a major mobile enterprise hardware vendor about a year ago, I heard an amazing statistic. He told me that 95 percent of field forces were still using pencil and paper to get their work done. That's ninety-five, not nine point five. That means the bulk of guys who get into a truck each morning, drive to a job site, perform some work and go home -- where they complete some paperwork before calling it a day -- are probably wasting untold amounts of time and money for their employers.

Granted, that was a year ago. The number is probably in the 85 to 90 percent range now, given the continuing explosions of mobile deployments, but it's still way too high a figure. Pencil and paper just doesn't cut it. You cant' compete globally that way.

IDC's VP of mobile devices and communications, Scott Ellison, feels that this is the year for enterprises to take advantage of the interoperability of devices and networks. He thinks Shangri La is finally on the horizon. I think it's already here, and has been for years.

There's no excuse for enterprises not to adopt. Okay, okay, yeah, the prices are sometimes daunting, but any reasonable ROI calculations can help find the solution that's best for even the smallest organization. Sometimes simple cell phones with timesheet programs do the trick. For the busier mid-sized enterprise that rolls 100 trucks a day, scheduling and dispatching software that relies on GPS data is critical for long-term success. For sales organizations spread across the country, smartphones equipped with customer relationship management and sales force automation programs can help them follow up with leads and close more sales.

GPS and location-based services are fully developed. Convergence is closer to reality. VoIP systems are robust enough for the enterprise. Handhelds are sophisticated. Applications are already lining the shelves.

All this technology is tied together and enabled by the high-speed wireless networks being run by the major US carriers. You can access just about any bit of enterprise information that you might need or want to. Isn't it time you got started?

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