Mobilize Your Enterprise: Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Wireless Technology

Description

This book explains in clear language how mobile technology can be put to use by companies to gain competitive advantage. As it stands today, the most important part of the workforcethose standing in front of customers have no way of accessing critical information when and where they need it. The result is a lot of inefficiency and lost opportunities. Mobile technology alleviates this problem by enabling mobile professionals to access their company's information through small computing devices. The result is friction free sales and services. This book explains how the mobile paradigm came about, where it is going, and what is possible today. It explains how to evaluate where it makes sense for your business and where it does not. The book introduces a methodology for reengineering your business processes through mobility. Brans explains the anatomy of a mobile solution, going into details on portable computing devices, wireless network technologies, wireless application gateways, enterprise applications, and wireless security.

Extras

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Closing the Gap Between Mobile Workers and Critical Information

How and When (If Ever) Should Software Engineers Move into Management?

How to Stimulate Innovation Without Blowing Up the Lab

The Case for Mobility in the Enterprise

Sample Content

Downloadable Sample Chapter

Click here for a sample chapter for this book: 0130091162.pdf

Table of Contents

(NOTE: Each chapter concludes with a Summary.)

Foreword.


Preface.


Acknowledgments.

I. MAKING THE CASE.

Technology versus Magic. The Magic of Companies. Friction-Free Sales and Service. Technology That Works Magic. How Far We Have Come. Near-Term Expectations. Long-Term Outlook. The Impact on IT Planning. Planning for Security. Planning to Deploying New Applications. Addressing the Paradigm Shift. Immediate Actions.

The Current State of Technology. Networks. Battery Technology. CPU/Memory. User Interface. Enterprise Applications. Analysis of Today's Technology. The Current State of the Industry. The Demand Side. The Supply Side. Visionaries versus Pragmatists. The Cautious Visionary. Job Functions With Immediate ROI. Functionality Required.

Sales. Information at Your Fingertips—Literally. Price Quotes and Product Availability. Orders and Delivery. Up-Sell and Cross-Sell. Forecasts. Opportunities/Customer Contacts. Benefits. Service Employees. Dispatch. Parts Replacement. Trouble Ticketing. Problem History/Technical Documents. Billing. Benefits. Consultants. Information Access. Email Access. Staying Up to Date. Benefits. The Traveling Professional. Performing Administrative Tasks. Alerts. Email. Meetings. Benefits. The Rest of the Company.

II. CLOSING THE GAP.

The Gap between Workers and Information. Building Blocks to Bridge the Gap. Portable Computing Devices. User interface. Wireless Networks. Wireless Application Gateways. Enterprise Applications. Synchronization. Security. Different Solution Configurations. Access to One Application. Access to Several Applications. A Subscription Service. Choosing the Right Kind of Solution for You.

Enterprise Requirements of Portable Devices. The Range of Devices Available. Cell Phones. Choosing a Cell Phone. Cell Phone Features. WAP Browser. Messaging. Data Entry. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Palm OS-Powered PDAs. Pocket PC-Powered Devices. EPOC-Powered Devices. RIM. Accessories. Smart Phones. Telephone Manufacturers that Make Smart Phones. PDA Manufacturers that Make Smart Phones. The Downside of Smart Phones. Tablet Computers. Notebooks. Ultra-Thin Notebooks. Desktop Replacement. Features for the Mobile Professional. Ruggedized Devices. Rugged Defined. Ruggedized PDAs. Ruggedized Tablets. Ruggedized Notebooks. Interesting Combinations of Devices. Notebook and PDA. Cell Phone and PDA. Cell Phone and Notebook or Tablet. Device Management. Portable Devices and the Mobile Enterprise. Salespeople. Service Employees. Consultants. Traveling Professionals.

Tips on Terminology. Frequency and Wavelength. Bands and Spectrum. Cellular and PCS. TDMA and CDMA. Fundamentals of Radio Signaling. Electromagnetic Radiation. Radio Frequencies. Signal Propagation and Disturbances. Increasing Frequency. Modulation. Analog versus Digital. Multiplexing. Circuit Switching versus Packet Switching. Voice Communications. Data Communications. Voice over Packet. Licensed versus Unlicensed Spectrum. Cellular. PCS. Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR). 3G. Unlicensed Frequency: Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM). The Cellular Model. Cells. Handoff/Handover. Roaming. Dual-Mode/Dual-Band. Network Standards Using the Cellular Model. AMPS. Maximizing Frequency Use. AMPS Data Services. AMPS for the Mobile Enterprise. TDMA (IS-136). Digital AMPS (D-AMPS). From D-AMPS to TDMA (IS-136). TDMA (IS-136) Data Services. TDMA (IS-136) for the Mobile Enterprise. GSM. Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). GSM Data Services. GSM for the Mobile Enterprise. CDMA (IS-95). Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS). Data Services. CDMA for the Mobile Enterprise. Data Networks. Mobitex. ARDIS. Data Networks for the Mobile Enterprise. Bluetooth. Bluetooth for the Mobile Enterprise. Wireless LANs. Background on 802.11. 802.11 for the Mobile Enterprise. Location Technology. Location Determination. Location-Based Services. Location for the Mobile Enterprise.

Joining Three Worlds. Data Exchange Models. PreFetch and Aggregate. On-Demand. Push. Synchronization. Thin Client/Thick Client. Underlying Technologies. J2EEª. J2MEª. Extensible Markup Language. Other Markup Languages. Application Servers. WAG Functional Reference Model. Presentation. Applications. Business Logic. Mobility. Computing Platform. Legacy Integration. Application Development.

The Evolution of Business Applications. Business Process Automation. Software Development, Packaging, and Integration. Presentation of Application Output. All Roads Lead to the Customer Office. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Supply Chain Management (SCM). Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). Knowledge Management (KM). Elements of KM Systems. Choosing the Right Scope for KM. Workflow. KM for the Mobile Enterprise. Email. Personal Information Management (PIM). Collaboration. Additional Applications. Time and Expense. News. Alerts. Desktop Synchronization (Detachable/Disconnected). Enterprise Applications for the Mobile Workforce.

Security Threats. Legitimate Use. Confidentiality. Service Availability. Data Integrity. Non-repudiation. Tools and Concepts for Countering Threats. Physical Security. Cryptography. Digital Signatures. Digital Certificates. Authentication. On-Device Data Security. Virus Protection. Security Solutions. Public Key Infrastructure. Firewalls. Virtual Private Networks. Device Protection. Peculiarities of the Mobile Environment. Always-On Connections. Low Bandwidth. Broadcast Nature of Wireless. Low Powered Devices. A New Breed of User. Securing the Mobile Enterprise. A Fully Secured Mobile Enterprise. Updating the Corporate Security Policy.

III. READY, SET….

Process-Oriented Business. Consistency. Economy of Scale. The Importance of Flexibility. Objectives in Reengineering Business Processes. A Simple Methodology. Notation. Modeling As-Is Processes. Redesigning Processes. Evaluating the Case for Mobility. Example 1: Pharmaceutical Sales Rep. Pre-Call Planning. Physician-Facing Activities. Post-Call Activities. Advantages Gained through Mobile Technology. Example 2: High-Tech Field Engineer. Dispatch. Repair Equipment. Time and Materials. Advantages Gained through Mobile Technology.

Developing a Shopping List. Device Requirements. Online versus Offline Access. Network Requirements. Thin Client versus Thick Client. System Load. Uptime. Security. Going Shopping. The Structure of the Industry. Device Vendors. Systems Integrators. Wireless Network Operators. Wireless Application Gateway Vendors. Enterprise Application Vendors. Platform Vendors. The Size of the Vendor. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Measuring the Benefits of Mobile Technology. Metrics for Sales. Metrics for Service Workers. General Metrics. Deployment Phases. Planning a Pilot. Running the Pilot. Initial Implementation. Fiscal Planning Aspects. Health and Safety Concerns. Working while Driving. Effects of Radio Frequency (RF) Signals on Health.

IV. APPENDICES

Definitions/Encyclopedias/Tutorials. Industry News/Opinion. Industry Forums. Industry Analysts and Research Firms. Health and Safety. Resources for IT Professionals. Device Vendors. Enterprise Application Vendors. WAG Vendors. Systems Integrators. Wireless Network Operators. Platform Vendors. Vendors of Security Products. Other Vendors.

Technology Adoption. Personal Computing Devices. Wireless Network Technology. Enterprise Applications. Security. Wireless Application Gateways. Business Process Reengineering. Internet. Industries. Health and Safety. Periodicals.

Preface

Preface

There are some common mistakes technology vendors tend to make in an early market. They get confused by all the hype. But in an early market it is usually the supply side—not the demand side—that makes all the noise. This is self-perpetuating—one vendor hears noise from other vendors, interprets it as a market, and then generates some more noise. In many cases, the hype gets out of hand and people get all the wrong expectations. Unfortunately, in the midst of all that, no real buyers can be identified.

For example, two years ago many people thought there would be a real interest in performing financial transactions on a cell phone. Some were thinking that the average person would want to trade stocks from these small devices. The problem was that typical consumers had no desire to do so.

The hype would not have been so bad if it had stayed among a closed group on the supply side. After all, the suppliers themselves are at fault for not having identified buyers with real problems that could be solved through the new technology. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The general public got wind of these big ideas about a big emerging market, and the confusion spread to the demand side.

Following the early hype is a lot of disappointment and frustration. Few people realize that there was never such a market—just a lot of companies going to the same trade shows and recycling ideas, mistaking those ideas for something coming from potential buyers. People who were in the middle of this look for various scapegoats for the market's not having taken off. They never realize that in fact the market they were targeting never really had a problem that could be solved by the technology in the state it was.

Once companies go belly-up through all this and die-hard techies move on to the next hype wave, we start to hear a whisper—one that in fact has been there long before the technology hype drowned it out. This whisper talks about an industry or industries who have had some burning problem for a long time. That is what is called a market—somebody has a problem (the demand side) and somebody else has a solution (the supply side). This is not rocket science; any kid selling lemonade on a hot summer's day understands this.

Mobile technology has matured in the last two years. There are several good wireless data services available—and there are several good PDAs, tablet computers, and notebook computers with wireless capabilities built in. The technology is now at a state where real business problems can be solved—and it turns out that there are real business problems crying out to be solved. These are the problems resulting from lack of critical information when and where workers need it. This problem is particularly acute among mobile workers—especially those who spend a lot of time in front of customers.

Mobilize Your Enterprise: Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Wireless Technology is both a business book and a technical book. It explains the business value of mobile technology to the enterprise—and it explains the enabling technology in terms of its business value. As such, Mobilize Your Enterprise aims to help the following types of readers:

• Executives, looking to understand what mobile technology can do for your company: this book will arm you with answers to your business questions and it will give you a working knowledge of the technology that makes business value possible.
• Sales Managers, Service Managers, Line of Business Managers, looking for ways of optimizing the business processes of mobile workers: you will learn where mobile technology has business value and where it does not. You will learn enough about the underlying technology to be able to make sense of what vendors are telling you.
• IT Managers, looking to understand the mobility paradigm: this book will show you the different technologies that go into a mobile solution. It will also help you develop ways of talking about the business rationale for mobile technology to economic buyers in your company. You will learn the structure of the market, and what kinds of vendors you should call on.
• Technology Vendors, looking to further your knowledge of this market: this book will help you understand how the buyer sees mobile solutions. It will complement your understanding of the technology, and it will give you new insight into the competitive landscape.

Mobilize Your Enterprise: Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Wireless Technology is a book to help you make decisions. I hope—and fully expect—that you will find the mobility paradigm a compelling way for your company gain an advantage. But if this book helps you decide that mobility does not make sense for your company, I will still consider that I have done my job.

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