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Pittsburgh Medical Center CIO On Smartphones As Notebook Replacements

The latest outtake from my InformationWeek cover story, "Is The Smartphone Your Next Computer?" offers up an extended version of my interview with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center CIO Dan Drawbaugh, who discusses how handhelds are increasingly being woven in the day to day operations of the health-care powerhouse. Read on for Dan's interesting and valuable perspective.

Wolfe: What do you use your smartphone for?

Drawbaugh: I use a BlackBerry Curve. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) primarily uses BlackBerry, but we have also utilized Microsoft's Exchange push e-mail system. Because of the integration of Exchange with the smart devices we have, our employees are able to access e-mail, receive attachments, look up contact information, and make calendar appointments wherever they are.

Wolfe: Why are you using your smartphone for such tasks? Is it just convenience?

Drawbaugh: Flexibility. A smartphone allows me to be in contact and available at all times. With a smartphone and the advent of 3G, and in the near future "4G," one is able to remain connected in any environment nearly anywhere in the world at near-broadband speeds. A laptop, in most cases, is limited to hotspots. With a smartphone, it fits on my hip and I can respond to nearly anything I need to.

Wolfe: Do you ever leave your laptop home entirely?

Drawbaugh: If I am traveling for a presentation, I will take my laptop. Also, if I am traveling for leisure, I will take my laptop for its DVD features with movies. In most cases, though, I am able to perform all the functions I need to do via my BlackBerry.

Wolfe: Are you using any ready- made mobile enterprise apps?

Drawbaugh: At UPMC, we are always interested in the use of technology to improve patient care. Applications that interface with our Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and patient medical records are being explored. As well, apps such as Salesforce.com are being piloted.

Wolfe: Do you foresee additional uptake of tasks by smartphones?

Drawbaugh: Yes. With the introduction of software-development kits (SDKs) by smartphone vendors, we are likely to see a substantial increase in applications that will enable more work to be done on these devices. For example, a smartphone could be used as a virtual terminal to interface with programs just as if you were sitting at a computer.

Wolfe: What about other people in your organization? Are they embracing smartphones as occasional laptop replacements?

Drawbaugh: Yes. Many organizations and many of our employees utilize the connectivity of smartphones to keep on top of their e-mail and calendars. Additionally, our emerging technologies group is always exploring innovative uses of smartphones to improve the quality of care we can provide.

I believe there are several technologies being developed now which will drive a dramatic shift in how smartphones will be used. Smartphones are increasingly becoming platforms, allowing for the development of software applications more easily.

Microprocessors and solid state storage are continuing to be more powerful, more efficient, and in smaller packages. This will provide more power, storage, and battery life to support the smartphone.

Virtual technology will soon allow your environment to be truly mobile. Already, one can use Ace, by VMware, to essentially put your laptop on a thumb drive. But soon, I believe you will be able to run your virtual machine on the smartphone. Just like Ace, it'll allow you to dock to a more powerful machine when necessary. In essence, any computer you can dock your smartphone to would be your computer, with your applications and user settings completely available.

Great stuff, Dan. To read more about how smartphones are moving up the value chain, check out the two previous interviews I've posted as addendums to the "Is The Smartphone Your Next Computer?" story:

Going Laptopless: MicroPersuasion On iPhone As Notebook Replacement; and

Smartphones As Laptop Killers: GM CIO Ralph Szygenda Opines.

Are you going laptopless? Let me know, by leaving a comment below or e-mailing me directly at alex@alexwolfe.net.

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