Mobile momentum

Much of what we do and how we behave today depends on being able to connect and communicate with other people, systems or machines.

Enterprise mobility embraces suppliers, partners, employees, assets and customers, irrespective of location. Increasing that mobility has required ­ and continues to require ­ companies to build systems that span devices, networks and applications.

The impact of mobile and wireless information technology on the IT user has been substantial. With the potential to catalyse changes ranging from productivity improvements to the radical redefinition of business processes, the introduction of notebook and laptop computers; mobile application architectures and operating systems; and wireless voice and data services has dramatically changed the way we work. And companies have certainly embraced mobility.

Ben Wishart, group IT director at hospitality company Whitbread, says that compared with five years ago, mobile technologies have changed his business.

‘Generally the change has been for the better with more accessibility and faster responses. However the temptation towards addictive “Crackberry” behaviour patterns means that people need to be strongly self-disciplined,’ he says.

‘Mobility is about how we can use technology to simplify users’ lives, rather than just introducing new bits of technology. When we can implement management information systems that can be read on all form factors, and you can print anywhere from a handheld device, then things will be exciting.’

Crucial, then, will be the implementation of mobility projects that produce clear business benefits.

Andrew Unsworth, head of e-government at the City of Edinburgh Council, says his organisation employs several innovative mobile technologies, including digital pens and paper for recording completed tasks.

‘A recent technology refresh has also provided new wireless handheld units for our parking attendants that allow parking tickets to be issued in real time,’ he says. ‘Mobility projects are generally taken forward on the grounds of efficiency and improved customer service, rather than emergence of new technologies.’

One of the biggest changes in enterprise mobility has been the introduction of remote access. Allowing users to log on to the corporate network in a secure and authenticated manner from a distant location, whether at home or in another office, has increased productivity and effectiveness as well as reducing costs.

Toby Clarke, group IT director for insurance specialist Abbey Protection Group, uses remote access technology extensively.

‘Our facilities strategy is not to increase office capacity but to use more home and remote workers and to offer more flexible working,’ he says.

‘We have a number of different communities using this technology but our primary one is a dedicated group of more than 30 lawyers who provide telephone advice.’

Mark Blowers, analyst at Butler Group, says that the real unchaining from the office and desktop PC began with the portable computer.

‘Laptops freed people and meant that a lot of staff, especially with broadband internet access, could work from home. The downside is that you still have to lug them about,’ he says.

The wide availability of cheap broadband has been another big enabler that has helped to improve organisational flexibility and facilitate remote working, while delivering the security and resilience demanded when accessing corporate applications. However, providing networked management for portable and handheld devices, such as smartphones and PDAs, can be problematic.

Jeremy Green, principal analyst for enterprise mobility at Ovum, says that integrating mobile devices and making them work with company applications is still a big barrier to wide scale adoption and use.

‘The obstructions used to be rotten bandwidth and extortionate circuit switch charging models ­ now we have more bandwidth than we know what to do with, so that connectivity and price is no longer an issue,’ he says.

‘However, integrating mobile devices with the back office still presents significant problems.’

Despite such challenges, the productivity benefits of mobile devices have encouraged adoption across a broad range of business areas.

Some of the earliest users of mobile applications have been in the areas of dispatch, transportation and field service.

Executives have turned to devices such as the BlackBerry to provide a form of mobile workflow, with sales force automation and customer relationship management applications also becoming mobile-enabled.

But the problem often remains that many mobile devices and applications are used in isolation, and are not seamlessly integrated into the corporate IT portfolio.

Mike Burton, head of IT at legal firm Cripps Harries Hall, says the company makes extensive use of technology, but mobile systems have yet to come to the fore.

‘All staff can use our remote access services, but the majority of them tend to live near the office and would prefer to call the security company and make arrangements to work at their desks rather than work from home,’ he says.

‘We haven’t seen a lot of change in the past five years, and while cost does play its part, even with lower prices we haven’t seen much expansion in use.’

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