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Some interesting surveys into attitudes to mobile devices and working this week have shown that 60% of small businesses have already implemented some form of mobile working while 10% of users would be “devastated” if their BlackBerry was taken away. Meanwhile a further survey shows that the number of workers now considered to be mobile has topped 40%.
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Microsoft’s chief information officer Ron Markezich has given an interesting interview to International Herald Tribune talking about the roll out of corporate mobile devices. It seems that previously Microsoft supported any devices that an individual might want to provide themselves. Now, however, Microsoft will issue the individual with a device when requested. Markezich is, obviously, in a somewhat different position to most CIO’s in that he is only going to be allowing Windows Mobile powered devices onto his network. This reduces the number of choices of devices. Similarly one would expect that it is unlikely that BlackBerry, Good or the others are likely to be providing the push email capabilities.
The other interesting aspect is that Markezich sees Europe and Asia at the forefront of mobile working and doesn’t see that changing for the foreseeable future. In fact he muses that the US may never close the gap.
Read the article in full here.
Research released by YouGov yesterday regarding mobile phone usage in the UK makes fascinating reading. As part of the research YouGov spoke to 16,500 British adults regarding their mobile phone usage so this was a pretty significant sample. The headline figures were:
| Statement | Response |
| Number of mobiles | 14% of people have two or more mobile phones that they use regularly |
| Number of calls | On average people make 2.8 calls a day |
| Number of texts | On average people send 3.6 text messages a day |
| Phone replacement | 70% of people replaced their mobile phone within the last 18 months |
| PAYG vs contract | Of people who own their own mobile phones (as opposed to having a company phone) 48% have PAYG and 52% have monthly contracts |
| Choosing a mobile | When choosing a mobile phone, the most important factor for people phone is function (31%), price (29%) and style (16%) |
Looking specifically at work usage of mobile phones the research found that:
Having posted last time about the new devices that are coming onto the market I thought that it was worth looking at the next key consideration - device choice. For any mobility solution to be a success it has to have the support of the end users and having a usable device is one way of ensure their buy-in. What device you choose will depend on the application but there are no shortage of options - from the brick like rugged devices from suppliers such as Symbol through to the latest generations of smartphones via the UPMC devices recently announced by Microsoft.
What do you need to consider? Well questions such as:
The other thing to consider is that if you are using a cliented solution for your back end application you will need to ensure that one if available for your chosen device. Many ISVs have clients for Pocket PCs only which will seriously restrict the options. If you are using AppServer then this is a clientless solution and so you have the choice of any device.
It is only when you have considered all the above questions that you can begin to work out a short list of devices. I would strongly recommend that you test drive as many devices as possible to establish each one’s strengths and weaknesses. You will prbably find that your existing mobile provider will loan devices for a trial period, which will keep costs to a minimum.
The final device choice may well be a compromise between a device that can actually run the required application and one that has the full feature set you need. As with any implementation forward planning is essential.
The choice of devices suitable for running business applications has been fairly limited in the past. Only the BlackBerry and possibly the Treo have offered the sort of form factor that have made mobile working a possibility. But now things are really hotting up with models coming from HP, Nokia and Motorola and the launch of the Windows mobile based Treo.
What makes a great business mobile device? …
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In a week when Ernst and Young lost a laptop containing the names, addresses and credit card details of almost 250,000 Hotels.com customers it seemed appropriate to start my Key Considerations blog series on data security.
There is no doubt that security is a key concern of businesses of all sizes and this concern is only heightened with stories such as that from Ernst and Young. With more users away from their desk and the
Over the next few posts I want to share with you some of the things that our customers and prospects tell us are the key considerations that they keep in mind when selecting a mobile solution. I will also give you an insight into how AppSwing addresses these. The list is relatively short and is as follows:
Please feel free to comment on any more you might have or your views on what you think is important for selection.
Today at RIM’s annual show, the Wireless Enterprise Symposium, it was announced that they are releasing software that finally breaks the link between the BES and the mail server. This is a very significant development as in the past you could only use BlackBerry if you had the devices tied to an email account. If you only wanted to run corporate applications on your device you had no choice but tie it to an email account and therefore to an individual. Now with BES for MDS Applications you will be able to get all the advantages of BES (encryption, compression, remote device management) without the need for an email account.
As a company that delivers applications to BlackBerry devices this is something that AppSwing have been asked for on a number of occasions and so I am glad that it is something we will be able to offer. The news is also significant as it shows a maturing of the mobile applications market and the recognition that there are many organisations that see the benefits of mobile working but not necessarily mobile email.
There was one final piece in the announcement that I felt was worth noting and that is the ability to be able to open documents for viewing from the BlackBerry browser which you currently cannot do and we have been requesting for a while. This will allow document download and viewing to be integrated into web based mobile applications. You can read more on the release of BES for MDS Applications at the following link: http://www.rim.com/news/press/2006/pr-15_05_2006-01.shtml
London Underground has announced that it is to start trials in four stations that will eventually lead to being able to use your mobile phones on the tube for the first time. While I like the idea of being able to continue to use my device for data access underground I am less keen on losing that last bastion of peace and quiet to the mobile phone. Still I don
CNET have reported that browsing from a mobile device is becoming “mainstream” with 27% of the more affluent over 35s doing so at some point during 2005. This is an increase of 6% over 2004.
What is significant about this is that the consumer led usage is likely to have a significant positive impact on the workplace usage of devices for browsing. This is because if individuals become familiar with the concept in the comfort of their own homes they are likely to be more comfortable to do so at work with a business application. Without this gentle introduction there would likely be some nervousness about the introduction of such new technologies.
What the report does not state is what the individuals were browsing for. From my own usage I can assume that it is likely to be the latest sports news.
Neil is CEO of AppSwing and has over 20 years of development and management experience in the IT industry.
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