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Showing posts from January, 2008

MobileDataforce Acquires Treetop Technologies to Increase Capacity for Developing Mobile Software Solutions

MobileDataforce Acquires Treetop Technologies Acquisition supports strategy for rapid growth in the enterprise mobile software applications markets for handheld PDAs and Smartphones Boise, Idaho— January 30, 2008 – MobileDataforce® a leading provider of business critical mobile software applications for handheld PDAS and Smartphones announced today it has acquired privately-held Treetop Technologies of Boise, Idaho. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition of Treetop Technologies extends MobileDataforce’s portfolio of services to include enterprise database and web design, development and integration. “These are skills that are in high demand by our medium to large mobile application customers.” says Kevin Benedict, CEO of MobileDataforce. “MobileDataforce is experiencing rapid growth around the world and as our mobile software development projects for handheld PDAS and Smartphones grow in size and complexity, the talents of the Treetop Technologies’ team will become criti

Energy Efficiency & Handheld PDAs and Mobile Software Solutions

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Our team in the UK has been working on various large mobile energy and water efficiency inspection applications for the last year. MobileDataforce is now being approached in the USA by a number of electrical and water utilities seeking our help developing mobile software applications that can be used for home inspections to determine where both electricity and water can be saved. Yesterday, I received a flyer from our local electrical utility asking for homeowners to subscribe to a service that allows the electrical utility to inspect their air conditioning units, and then apply a piece of monitoring equipment that allows the utility to regulate the use of the unit during peak times in the summer. I am not necessarily comfortable with a outside entity running my air conditioning unit from a distance, but I understand their need to start taking steps to better manage the use of electricity for conservation purposes. The bottom line - they need MobileDataforce's mobile handheld i

Mobile Solutions for Handheld PDAs and Tablet PCs in China

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Two of our PSO (professional services organization) team members returned on Saturday from a 10 day trip to China where they were working on a mobile software project for Quality Assurance and Reporting. The quality of the manufacturing is very important to the buyer in the USA, so having good inspection software and reports are required to be gathered at the point of manufacturing in China and the data is sent around the world for review and storage in California. The mobile software applications can be configured to work on mobile handheld PDAs or Tablet PCs. This is a very complex mobile solution, one of the most challenging we have implemented, but the satisfaction of having safeguarded products used by millions is worth it. This is just one example of the many large international mobile software projects MobileDataforce is currently working on to mobilize various business processes for our enterprise customers.

Chain of Custody with MobileDataforce's Mobile Handheld PDA Software Solutions

Our professional services team has just completed a very powerful mobile software application for, use on handheld PDAs, that provides a "chain-of-custody" solution for delivering medicine primarily to African and South American locations. The specific application that we just delivered tracks the delivery of AIDs medicine from the warehouse to the clinic. One of the big challenges faced by organizations providing medicine to remote areas, is to make sure that the medicine purchased and shipped actually arrives at the designated location. The application we just delivered includes functionality that validates that the medicine, in the appropriate quantities, arrives at 8 specific locations along the shipping route and is confirmed with digital signatures from valid signers. The distance, environmental challenges and lack of infrastructure often mean that mobile software solutions are the best option for tracking supplies around the world. MobileDataforce is working on many su

Mobile Handheld PDAs, Politics & Barack Obama

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Politics & Windows Mobile Software Applications One of my Product Managers created a mobile software application last week for the campaign team that works for presidential candidate Barack Obama . It was designed to help caucus participants quickly compute a caucus strategy during the dynamic events of the night. This is a first for me. I have never seen a custom mobile software application designed to help define and develop a political strategy in real time. Good job Tim! How is this possible you might ask - he developed it using MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform . Using a rapid application development platform like PointSync , you can quickly create all kinds of interesting mobile software applications that you can run on your PDAs and PDA phones.

Mobile Mobile Water Bottle Delivery Solution on Handheld PDAs

My team is working on a mobile water bottle delivery solution for use on handheld PDAs for a Portuguese company that delivers water in Africa. The mobile software solution includes the following: Route delivery information Barcode scanning Mobile Inventory of water/water bottles Delivery details Mileage of vehicle Mobile printer and printing support MobileDataforce is delivering an increasing number of these kinds of mobile route delivery applications for both handheld PDAs and handheld barcode scanners. If a company is currently using paper, the ROI is very easy to document. Not only can the basic business processes associated with deliveries be mobilized, but CRM information, competitive data collection, new order processes, service details, etc., can all be mobilized using the same mobile software platform and the same handheld computer.

12 Steps to a Successful Mobile Software Deployment on Handheld PDAs

Companies around the globe are looking for ways to do more with less. Many recognize that their mobile workforce is being managed inefficiently and extending business process automation to mobile field workers using handheld PDAs is becoming a priority. The following 12 steps identify how you can get started automating and mobilizing these business processes for use on handhelds. Step 1 – Understand the ROI/Scope of the Project and Plan Ahead What are some of the key challenges with a mobile software development project? Many companies don’t put enough thought into what they need, and what the anticipated ROI will be. Others don’t assign and schedule testing resources. Some finish the development but have no deployment strategy. Still others buy incompatible handheld PDAs before they start development and find out they don’t meet the requirements of the field user. The results of these deficiencies are project scope creep, cost overruns, missed deadlines and dissatisfied end users. St

Building Businesses with Mobile Handheld PDAs and Mobile Software

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I have written a great deal on the value of specific mobile solutions like the following: Mobile Work Orders Mobile Inspections Mobile Job Estimates Mobile Asset Tracking Mobile Delivery Solutions Today I want to focus on some key problems businesses face, and how mobile solutions can help solve these problems. When a company expands beyond the capabilities of the owner/manager, new employees or contractors must be added. This can often introduce the following kinds of problems: Inexperienced workers Unreliable workers Irresponsible workers Uncommitted workers Forgetful workers Thieves and felons on the payroll These problems can lead to the following set of issues: Unhappy customers Cost overruns Incomplete and/or incorrect paperwork Inaccurate job estimates Work quality issues Slow work production Lost tools and equipment Management headaches Believe it or not - many of these issues can be improved and corrected by using mobile software applications on handheld computers to help ensu

Smartphones, Mobile Handheld PDAs, Location Based Mobility - Google, Starbucks & Safeway

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I made an interesting observation while taking a road trip over the holidays. Mobile handheld PDAs and Google and mapping software have made it possible for businesses without obvious street front locations to become more successful. Let me explain - My wife wanted to know if there was a Starbucks location along our driving route. She googled (used as a verb) the word Starbucks on her mobile handheld PDA phone and looked for a location in one of the small rural towns we would be traveling through. She quickly found a Starbucks location inside a Safeway in Baker City, Oregon. Here is the interesting point, this Safeway was not visible from the freeway, yet Starbucks had a long line of travellers waiting for their hot drinks. Seems we were not the only travelers clever enough to use a mobile phone, Internet explorer and Google to find their favorite drink. Again, the fact that the location was not visible from the freeway did not seem to be a problem. How might this change the economics