Mobile Workflows in the Field, SAP and Other ERPs

The way business processes are designed, implemented and standardized within a company can often mean the difference between success and failure. If often takes years of trial and error, and sometimes flashes of brilliance to come up with just the right business process that will mean success and competitive advantages.

Once the perfect business process is proven it needs to be implemented and automated. Why automated? Because humans are forgetful and have even been known to be from time to time lazy. They want to cut corners and avoid that which is tiresome. Automation enforces and manages the perfect business process.

For years software vendors and ERP developers like SAP have developed applications that help design workflows and workflow engines to run them. These provide the technology infrastructure within the enterprise to automate these business processes and to ensure they are followed, however, once an employee exits the building and drives away in a company van to perform a task remotely, the automated business process breaks down. Suddenly, the business processes that you have spent years perfecting are useless. The employee has broken the "connection" and walked out the door to freedom.

Even today, most mobile field service workers leave the building with a clipboard and a stack of paper service tickets or work orders. How they perform their work, in what order and the processes they utilize in the field are now unsupervised and up for interpretation. The field service technicians often don't much care for the business processes designed by the teams of MBAs in suits at the office. They have their own preferences and opinions about how things should be done, and in remote jobsites who is going to argue?

Many large companies have up to 40% of their employees working remotely and/or in the field on jobsites. How can the SAP or other ERP Business Process Expert design and implement business processes that can be utilized and enforced in mobile and remote locations? This is a challenge worth resolving.

Think about it, a company pays tens of millions of dollars implementing SAP internally and designing business processes and workflows to operate their enterprise. Yet for many services based businesses the money is earned outside the office at remote locations. The location where the customer interaction takes place and where the money is made is often devoid of best in class business process automation.

Mobile applications that need to synchronize with ERPs, should implement mobile workflow support. This requires a client server architecture whereby the mobile client software understands that a workflow or event manager is associated with a particular process and the server also understands that it is both producing and consuming data with the mobile device that is part of an event or workflow. Let me provide a scenario.

A service technician has a ruggded PDA or other mobile device on his belt. He receives an alert that he needs to be dispatched to a jobsite. This initiates a business process with a workflow associated with it. A series of tasks that make up the dispatch and completion of a service ticket are now initiated. The tasks may include:

1. Dispatch receives a service call


2. This initiates a series of tasks including estimating the availability and analyzing the location of all service technicians in the area.


3. Once the nearest available service technician is identified a service dispatch can be sent


4. Service technician confirms availability and accepts the job


5. Least cost and fastest routing information is sent


6. Service technician arrives at the jobsite and pushes a button on his mobile device annoucing his arrival.


7. Arrival message synchronizes with the server workflow or event manager notifying dispatch of his location on site.


8. The workflow may include an inspection, detailed findings, proposed solution, repair and collection of the fee


9. Any parts needed will be automatically deducted from the service vehicle's inventory


10. The workflow can also include sales and marketing activities such as promoting an Annual Service plan or equipment upgrade to the customer


11. The repair is complete, dispatch is notified


12. The service technician is available for another job
    

In this scenario, the mobile client application using a workflow engine that interacts with the server side application steps the service technician through the various tasks included in the business process. These steps can be directions in the form of alerts, messages, next steps, data fields that require input, and feedback from the dispatch office. Each step of the workflow required input from the service technician to confirm that the step had been completed and this information was in turn synchronized with the server side workflow engine. This enables the best practices supported by the company to be practiced and supervised in the field.

SAP has a solution called Event Manager. It is designed to manage activities happening across a geographically dispersed supply chain. It requires data input via B2B and EDI data communications. Similarly, mobile applications can feed data into a centralized workflow or event management solution that helps support and ensure best practices across remote jobsites.

A workflow engine and a mobile client version of a mobile workflow engine is required by companies that want to standardize business processes in the field where interactions with customers take place and where revenue is earned.

If you would like to discuss this concept in more detail please email me.

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Mobile Software Applications, Supply Chains and Medicine Delivery

When a person typically associates mobile devices, iPhones, Smart Phones, PDAs and other hand held computers with medicine they envision a medical clinic or a hospital environment. However, mobile handheld computers and medicine are also used in remote locations and in medicine supply chains that you may not have thought about. Let me first share an article I read this week that describes some of the challenges incurred while delivering medicine in Brazil.

Armed raiders attack medicine shipments in Brazil

Author - Phil Taylor 27-Jul-2009

A delivery truck carrying medicines was attacked by bandits in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 19, resulting in a heavy exchange of gunfire with armed escorts. There were no fatalities and the raiders failed to make off with the shipment, which was valued at around $530,000 and contained products from several different companies, according to information received from pharmaceutical industry sources.

The bandits, in two vehicles, forced the driver to open the truck door at gunpoint. That triggered an alarm which informed the transport firm that there was a problem with the shipment. The escorting vehicle’s guards pushed the panic button and responded to the criminal’s opening fire, while other escorting vehicles patrolling the same route joined the fray and eventually drove the thieves off.

A similar attack, involving the same transport firm, took place in Brazil in June, and in this case one of the security guards was injured in the exchange of gunfire.
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Note the mobile device that monitored the doors and automatically reported a breech of security.

Talk about a supply chain and logistics challenges! YIKES!

I had the good fortune of working on a mobile software project where we developed a mobile solution that helped track, monitor and report the location and inventory levels of medicine being delivered around the world. The donor organizations, needed to have visibility and accountability that the medicine they donated actually reached the intended destinations and patients.

This mobile software application used consumer grade Smart phones with bar code scanners and wireless connectivity so the boxes of medicine could be scanned and their location and inventories in Africa could be reported to the organization's headquarters in Washington DC. At headquarters all the donor organizations could access the database and generate reports on the delivery and use of the medicine.

Here is another interesting article you may want to read about mobile applications in the Coffee and Espresso product supply chains.

If you would like more details on these mobile applications email me.

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SAP and Mobile Applications for Field Services

These are challenging economic times. Companies of all sizes and shapes are seeking to reduce costs and to improve efficiencies. This often translates into more work with fewer resources which can often negatively impact service levels. How does a company reduce costs, improve service levels and become more efficient all at the same time? The improvement and automation of business processes is often the answer. Accomplishing this does not always require a lot of money. Sometimes it is simply focusing on improvement and understanding what your exisiting technology is capable of doing. This article will focus on cost reductions and efficiencies that can be recognized by improving business processes in remote and mobile locations.

Many large companies use ERPs from vendors such as SAP, Oracle, SAGE, MS Dynamics and others. These ERPs are designed to organize a business and to make business processes automated and standardized. However, companies have often over-looked the huge amounts of paper documents that are used in the field, collected and at a later date re-typed into these ERPs. Many ERP users have simply not attempted to automate business processes that happen outside the four walls. These business processes can have huge inefficiencies that can be fixed and savings recognized.

SAP has developed some very interesting mobile application interfaces that utilize Netweaver PI (Process Integration) and enable third party mobile software companies to tightly align their mobile device applications with the standard SAP business processes.

Field services are most often provided away from the office. The process of ensuring quality services outside of the visibility of supervisors and business managers is critical to the success of the business.

The use of industrial handhelds and rugged PDAs and other mobile software technologies, in the context of field services automation, is most often driven by the following 12 business motivations:

1. Efficiencies in communicating information between the office and the remote service technician or jobsite
2. Efficiencies in planning and scheduling work based upon location, parts and expertise needed
3. Reducing fuel costs
4. Reducing travel time
5. Reducing time consuming and error prone data entry activities in the office
6. Increasing productivity – more average service calls per service technician in a day
7. Increasing service contract sales
8. Increasing equipment upgrade sales
9. Increasing collections with mobile invoicing, mobile printing of invoices and onsite collections
10. Improving inventory control and management - visibility to parts needed, the location of inventory and parts used on each job or service ticket
11. Reduced risks by reminding service technicians of safety hazards and safety procedures on the job
12. Improving management visibility into work done in the field to ensure quality services
    

These 12 business motivations become increasingly important during slow economic times when times are tough, and every penny must be saved and maximized. In rapid growth periods inefficiencies are often overlooked in a rush to keep up with the market and business growth, and hidden under the onslaught of new sales and revenues. However, when the economy slows down, it is time for companies to re-evaluate business processes in order to eliminate the inefficiencies and bad habits that have developed. Let’s now review some common and costly inefficiencies:

1. Wasted time and fuel driving back and forth to the office to pick-up and deliver new work orders, tools and parts. With the high cost of fuel, reducing driving distances is a necessity. Can you dispatch a service technician directly from their home to a nearby jobsite? Can you make sure your service technician has the most common parts in the van before they travel to the jobsite?
2. Wasted time and fuel by being unprepared for the job and driving around looking for parts. Can you reduce travel time and fuel costs by being better prepared for the job before traveling? Can you ask customers for more information on the equipment such as brand, serial number, year, location, problem etc? Can you ask the customer for a digital photo of the equipment, serial number, etc., and email it before dispatching the service technician?
3. Wasted time sitting outside of a locked and vacant location waiting for the owner to arrive. Can you set up an automated phone call to let the customer know you are on the way? This avoids showing up at a vacant house or closed business and wasting time.
4. Inefficient dispatching and routing - dispatching service technicians to a distant location, when another service technician is closer and wasting time and fuel. Can you use GPS tracking on the vans to better know the location of all service technicians so you can dispatch the closest and best service technician for the job?
5. Missed opportunities to sell more services, parts and equipment to the customer at the time of work. Can you automatically remind the service technician to promote service contracts by using a mobile handheld work order system? This will help increase service contract sales.
6. Poor scheduling and routing -can you schedule service contract visits based on geographic location to reduce fuel costs and wasted travel time? Can a service technician complete more service calls in a day if they are routed more efficiently?
7. Driving large, heavy vehicles when not required. If you have a better understanding of the parts required for today’s service calls, can you take a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle to the jobsite?
8. Poor cash management and collection processes. Can you collect money, swipe credit cards and print receipts from a mobile handheld device to improve collections at the jobsite? Are you wasting time, paper and postage sending out invoices weeks after the work was completed?
9. Too high administrative costs. Can you reduce the costs of data entry and administrative staff by automating the dispatch process by using wireless work order dispatch that is integrated directly with your work order management and accounting systems?Every company, upon self-evaluation, will be able to identify additional inefficiencies that can be corrected and reduced. Many of the costly inefficiencies can be resolved by automating and mobilizing field services business processes.
   

Mobilized Work Orders

What does an automated and "mobilized" work order system or service request dispatch and management system look like? Let's walk through a scenario -

1. A customer calls in to report a broken heating system. The office staff takes the phone call, enters the relevant information into the work order application on the desktop computer which then creates a unique work order and number.
2. The work order database application, with GIS integration, can compare the location of each service technician to determine which service technician is closest to the work location. The dispatch system can also look at the estimated time the nearby service technicians are committed to completing their existing assignments.
3. Once the appropriate service technician is identified, the work order is dispatched to the handheld computer used by the service technician.
4. Included in the electronic work order is driving directions from his/her current location to the next job location.
5. In addition to the work order information, warranty, repair, users manual, maintenance history and product information on file can also be dispatched to the handheld computer for reference and parts inventory management.
6. Once the service technician arrives at the location, he opens the work order on the handheld computer. Opening the work order automatically captures the service technician's name, the date/time stamp and the GPS coordinates of the jobsite and enters them into the mobile application’s work order.
7. Next the service technician examines the broken heating system and determines which parts need replaced.
8. He can pull out his handheld computer and check whether he has the needed parts in his vehicle inventory, if not, it can automatically search for nearby service vehicles that may contain the part (GPS tracking enables this). If another nearby service vehicle is determined to have the required part, then driving directions can be sent.
9. When the service technician arrives at the service vehicle with the needed part, then the part is scanned using a bar code scanner in the handheld computer to log its removal from the vehicle's inventory and assigns it to the appropriate work order number.
10. Back at the work site, the service technician runs into a challenge. He has never worked on this model before and needs advice. He snaps a digital photo of the equipment and synchronizes it back to the office. His supervisor reviews the photo and calls him with advice which saves possibly hours of time and mistakes.
11. Once the work is completed, the service technician signs his name on the handheld computer screen, and has the customer sign the work order screen as well. The service technician prints an invoice on a mobile printer and collects the payment or swipes the customer’s credit or debit card. The collection is noted on the mobile work order and synchronized back to the office.
12. A customer survey can pop-up asking the service technician to let the customer answer a series of questions that will impact the service technicians monthly bonus plan
13. As soon as the work order is completed and synchronized, the mobile application reminds the service technician to promote a 2 year service contract. The service technician reviews the details with the customer and signs them up for a 2 year service contract. Next, the work order system reviews job locations and priorities and assigns the next optimized work order to the field service technician.

These business processes are all criticial to the success of a field services business. These processes are sometimes complicated, and with the service technician remote and without direct supervisor management can often be done wrong or incomplete if paper based. The ability to standardize and automate these processes allow service based businesses to accomplish more business with less resources and with better quality.

SAP users are often large companies. Their field service operations can involve hundreds and even thousands of mobile workers. The possible savings from improving mobile operations can be enormous. If you would like to brainstorm about some or all of these mobile business applications for field services companies send an email.

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Motorola's MC55 Handheld PDA

Motorola recently announced a very intriguing new handheld PDA called the MC55. Here is what Motorola says about it:

MC55 Enterprise Digital Assistant (EDA)

The MC55 EDA brings a new level of flexibility, functionality and rugged design to size-optimized mobile devices, providing mobile workers with the power to streamline business processes, increase productivity and improve customer service. The smallest and lightest Motorola rugged EDA with a 3.5-inch display, the MC55 packs the power of a cell phone, two-way radio, bar code scanner, digital camera and mobile computer — all into a single device. Designed to meet mobile worker, business application and IT requirements, this easy-to-use and easy-to-carry business-class device offers true consumer styling as well as enterprise manageability, security and scalability.

Note the emphasis on extending business processes, business applications and its rugged design. I like it!

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More Information on the SAP and Sybase Mobile Software Partnership

Last week I wrote about the recent partnership announcement between SAP and Sybase. This week more pieces of information are coming out. This is a good article with more details:

http://www.internetnews.com/software/article.php/3809851/SAP+Sybase+Team+on+Mobilizing+Enterprise+Apps.htm

Here are the additional pieces of information:

• This partnership will enable SAP's applications, based on its integration and application platform NetWeaver, to be delivered to mobile devices using Sybase technologies such as M- Business Anywhere mobile content and application platform.
• Sybase will get access to SAP's 40 million licensees worldwide through the arrangement.
• Products will begin to appear on the market in the second half of 2009.
• The move helps SAP approach the mobile market in a device-agnostic delivery model.
• "[SAP] clearly needed a mobile device solution and sought out a qualified partner instead of going it alone," wrote Jack Goldfounder and principal analyst at J.Gold Associates.
• "The mobile solution will not be sold or delivered directly by SAP. Rather, this will be a referral sale with the two companies collaborating on the pre-sales efforts, but with Sybase providing all of the products, software, and installation of the solution."
• In this article Sybase's iAnywhere is clearly defined as the deliverer of this solution
  

These additional details make it perfectly clear that existing vendors using iAnywhere's products have an opportunity now with SAP's 40 million users.

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Questions about the SAP and Sybase Partnership for Mobile Software Applications

SAP and Sybase this week announced a non-exclusive partnership to deliver mobile software applications for SAP on a wide variety of mobile handhelds, iPhones, Windows Mobile devices and Smartphones.

Bill McDermott, president of global field operations for SAP explained that the collaboration “will lay the foundation to further mobilize SAP’s great content and functionality -- and move that content and functionality into the hands of the mobile workforce."

What do they mean, "laying the foundation." Nobody can use a foundation on an iPhone, someone must build the application. I wonder how this will work?

"The mobile enterprise worker is now the most important worker, because that’s the worker that’s touching the customer, the partner, and the supplier,” McDermott said. “This worker relies on smart devices and uses the power of calendar and email -- in addition to, now, the enterprise application functionality of SAP...there will be 300 million smart devices in the hands of mobile workers by 2013 – that’s nearly 100 percent growth from where we are today – and there will be 1 billion mobile users in the nest few years.” He added that “seventy percent of companies are planning to mobilize [business] applications [and get thim] into the hands of their knowledge workers.”

I do believe this could be a smart move for Sybase, as SAP has millions of enterprise users, but I wonder why it is a non-exclusive relationship. Does SAP really think multiple companies can afford a broad based mobile SAP development effort in this economy? I wonder if this relationship is really only about the mobile synchronization and mobile database technology that Sybase has. I wonder if Sybase will simply integrate their syncing and database technology with SAP Netweaver and leave other software developers to build the actual mobile applications. Is this what they mean by "foundation?" This seems the most likely scenario to me.

At the same time, “we are in a new reality in this economy, and companies are looking to extend the value of their existing core IT investments,” McDermott said. As such, many companies are looking for highly integrated “out of the box” solutions that will save them on integration costs and ongoing maintenance of complex systems.

Who is paying who for the "out-of-the-box" solutions? Is Sybase investing in the development of mobile SAP applications, or is SAP paying the bill? The task they have announced is enormous. Of course the details are vague, so maybe it is just hype. I have worked on many mobile applications and the suite of products that SAP has is large. This would be a monumental task, and then how do you create user interfaces for so many mobile devices with different configurations.

I am very interested in understanding how they will deliver the actual mobile software applications. Supporting all of the mobile devices with device specific features is too hard for Sybase or SAP to do on their own. Even Google said there are too many mobile devices and Smartphones with different configurations and features to support them all. There is a limit to what can be done by any 2 companies. I would guess that Sybase would begin selling a "mobile software tool kit" so that other systems integrators and partners could help build out SAP applications with device specific features that run on the Sybase mobile database and synchronization platform.

Here is another interesting observation. I did not see Sybase's mobile division, iAnywhere mentioned in any of the associated press releases or articles I read on this announcement. They did not role out their iAnywhere Management or the iAnywhere products. Hummm...what does this mean...?

Follow this link for the latest update on the SAP and Sybase partnership.

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Microsoft's View of the Mobile World

The following 4 comments this week from Microsoft on where they see the mobile market going were very interesting and revealing:

1. Microsoft sees Linux being more competitive on the PC desktop going forward because the company believes that Google will port its Android mobile OS to the PC.
2. Microsoft is strongly positioned in the business world and should remain a RIM contender (however, it seems to be giving up on the consumer market where iPhone and Symbian users are growing at a much faster rate than Windows Mobile users)
3. Ballmer says that the smart phone market will continue to grow despite the economy and that the low price of some Windows Mobile phone offers will help.
4. Microsoft does not plan to launch their own phone

Google's Vic Goduntra also shared his thoughts on mobility this week and suggested that Google will win no matter what mobile OS customers choose as their strategy is to keep the computing power of mobile applications in the cloud, rather than on the mobile operating system.

Opinions and Comments:

It is interesting that Microsoft sees Google porting Android over to PCs soon. This will really stir things up. I am a big fan of Google applications already and can see how this could evolve quickly and change the market. Microsoft has a major challenge.

I also see a problem with the comments and positions of Microsoft - they seem to have given up on winning the consumer market, but believe they will continue to sell well to consumers in this tough market. If they are conceding defeat in the consumer market, I wouldn't be betting on increased sales for long. There better be a new strategy soon.

Microsoft says they do not plan to launch a Smartphone. Hummm...Apple and RIM both launched Smartphones and operating systems and they are winning. What part of this is Microsoft missing?

I find myself doing more and more work on my iPhone and Google applications. I can see how even in tough economic times the "personal computing devices" will become increasingly popular.

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With Cloud Computing - Google Doesn't Care Which Mobile Operating System Wins

That was the sentiment expressed by Vic Gundotra, vice president of mobile and developer platforms at Google, who spoke on a panel at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco this week. Applications like gmail live in the world of cloud computing which means they are less impacted by the various mobile operating systems so although they have skin in the game, they can win no matter the users mobile operating system preferences.

Even Google says it cannot afford to develop different versions of the same mobile applications for all the various mobile operating systems. Their strategy is to develop applications for the "cloud-based" platforms and then make them accessible to all the different mobile handheld PDAs and Smartphones via the internet.

There is still a lot of excitement around internet-centric mobile handhelds and Smartphones even in today's economy says Gundotra. Why? He attributes it to the mobile phones' transition to personal computing devices.

Google's strategy has implications for a lot of mobile software companies and should influence where they spend their R&D budgets in the future.


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Good Technology, Vendor of Mobile Sync for Handheld PDAs is Sold Yet Again

It is not easy being a mobile synchronization technology vendor. Synchronization is a technology category that is about as sexy as the kitchen drain pipe. Yes, it is needed, but do you want to schedule a board level meeting and use up precious IT budget on it? Obviously not many companies. For the second time in 2 years Good Technology was sold and the price goes down each time.

"Mobile push synchronization platform and service provider Visto acquired Motorola's Good Technology Feb. 24. Motorola acquired Good in 2007 for more than $400 million in hopes of challenging Research In Motion's dominance in the enterprise mobile e-mail market. "

[Opinion Alert] People get excited about cool mobile gadgets, PDAs, Smartphones and manly rugged handhelds with integrated GPS, digital cameras and powerful mobile software applications that make their work and life easier and more enjoyable in an obvious way. The problem with synchronization software is that it is the drain pipe and no one cares about it unless it doesn't work. [/End of Opinion Alert]

"We believe that this transaction is in the best interest of our customers, employees and shareholders," said Gene Delaney, president of Motorola's Enterprise Mobility Solutions. [translation] No one was buying it.

When an individual purchases an iPhone, do they walk around the Apple Store with the hip, pierced and scruffy-faced Apple nerd pondering the merits of various synchronization technologies? Of course not! They want the cool smartphone to work and they want the provider of the device to figure out synchronization. That is Apple's and AT&T's strategy (and most others) and you can see this strategy in Google's recent license agreement with Microsoft for their Activesync. Google, with their growing suite of mobile applications, are hiding synchronization in their cloud computing environment. It is just there and available. The user is not spending a lot of time thinking about it.

Perhaps that was Motorola's original plan. but Good Technology was competing with RIM's world of Blackberrys, Microsoft and Apple. That is not a list of competitors I would want to be facing and betting $400 million against. I must say that the person behind that purchase must have studied Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and took it to heart.

Good luck Visto!
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Windows Mobile Rugged Handheld PDA the i-Mate 810-F

For those of you involved in the mobile handheld PDA industry you know that there is usually a distinct line between the categories of rugged industrial grade handhelds and the category of consumer grade mobile devices such as Smartphones, PDA Phones, iPhones, etc. It only takes a few questions about the environment the customer is working in to make a recommendation as to the kind of mobile device required. That process is now getting harder as the announcement below demonstrates.

"i-mate, the global specialist in Microsoft Windows Mobile devices and software, today launched the i-mate 810-F, the world’s first complete lifestyle mobile with a lifetime warranty. Designed to meet military specifications, the 810-F combines high-end mobile technology and incredible durability in a single sleek package. Whether you work in the great outdoors or in an office, on the road or on a building site, or you just simply want a tough take-anywhere mobile, the 810-F offers everything you need for work and play. The phone comprises waterproof rubber casing and exposed metal screws to lock in the factory seal, making it impervious to almost anything. A full QWERTY keyboard, and impact resistant touch screen, means you don’t miss a thing while you are out and about... The 810-F is designed around the stringent MIL-STD-810F series of standards. These standards are issued by the U.S. military’s Developmental Test Command, a body whose role is to ensure equipment can withstand the rigours of the most extreme environments. This means the i-mate 810-F can cope with pressure, heat, water, humidity and even extreme shock without missing a beat. The 810-F is equally happy at a chilly -10°C or sweltering 60°C, and can be fully submerged in water."

How do you select the right rugged handheld, Smartphone or PDA? This article on the site called Mobile Software & Handheld PDA Business Strategies has a chapter called Selecting the Right Mobile Computing Device for the Solution.




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Questions to Ponder before Starting a Mobile Software Development Project for Handheld PDAs, iPhones and Smartphones

This article identifies some basic questions that should be asked and pondered by the business user and software development teams before starting on a mobile software development project:

1. Do you anticipate needing one mobile software application, or many? Can you start with a mobile software development platform that supports all of your mobile application needs, or will each mobile application be a separate IT project and use different development technologies and infrastructures (e.g. Windows Mobile, Google Android, RIM Blackberry, Symbian, iPhone, etc.)?
2. Do you know your exact solution and data requirements in advance? Do you anticipate needing to edit and adjust your mobile application as you learn from your field users and their experiences? Can it be hard coded, or does it need to be flexible and easily edited? The answers to these questions will impact both design and schedules.
3. Do you have an in-house software development capability, budget and helpdesk infrastructure to enable you to develop and support your own mobile application(s)?
4. Are you going to outsourcing the development of your mobile software application's design, development and deployment to an experienced mobility company, or build it internally?
5. Will you be synchronizing your field data with one back-office database, or multiple database applications? How will you do this? Are you using a middleware solution in this process?
6. Do you know how to integrate field data to your database applications? Do you have your own DBA that can do this? Are they involved in the data synchronization discussions. How can you ensure valid data is synchronized from the field?
7. How secure does the mobile data synchronization need to be? The more security that is added and layered the slower the data synchronization. Does only a small part need to be secure or all of the data?
8. Will the user always need and have internet connectivity, or will the application run equally well disconnected? Does you design take this issue into consideration?
9. Mobile solutions are often used on laptops, Tablet PCs, Smartphones, PDAs, and rugged handhelds. Do you know your hardware requirements and user environmental requirements? Is the user environment hot, cold, dry, wet, dusty, flammable or frozen?
10. Will you be supporting just one mobile device, or many different kinds and sizes? Is the screen size an issue? What size is the screen on your chosen devices? Is it sufficient for the work done in the field. Does the mobile worker need to read manuals, maps, images, blueprints and drawings, or just click on a few buttons?
11. What mobile device operating system(s) will you be supporting?
12. How will the mobile handhelds or mobile devices be carried and stored. Is the user wearing a suit, or wearing overalls in the rain. Does the environment require a rugged case, or a suit pocket? The answers to these questions impact your choice of mobile devices, operating systems and screen sizes.
13. If your internal IT staff are developing your mobile solution, do they know how to do the following: integrate with and support GPS, Barcode scanners, RFID radios, Digital Signatures, digital cameras and synchronize data bi-directionally across multiple databases?
14. What mobile database will you use? Does it have its own synchronization technology? If not, what mobile middleware are you going to use? Does the mobile database vendor support the operating systems you have chosen?
15. Do you have an IT development team that is experienced in designing, developing and deploying mobile applications, or is this their very first mobility project. Can you afford the steep learning curve, time and money developing a mobile application in-house with no experience?
16. Have you considered the implementation, training and support effort required to manage large mobile software deployments? Do you have project management and helpdesk software in place to manage it?
17. Have you made sure that your mobile software application's database and screen design will include the data fields required by the office database application you will sync with?
18. Does the mobile software application need to support a specific business process in SAP or other ERP? Have you designed the mobile software application to do so?
19. One of the most challenging and complex parts of mobile application development is to create the right data model for your mobile application before you start development. Often an appropriate data model for a simple mobile application, is not the appropriate data model once you start adding features and additional modules in future versions. Is your database model designed to easily support additional components?

These are a few of the questions you will want to discuss with both the business and the technical team before you begin this effort. For more questions and possibly some answers you may want to visit this Google Knol called Mobile Software & Handheld PDA Business Strategies.

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Google Latitude for Handheld PDAs, Smartphones and Work Orders

Google recently announced a new application in the world of cloud computing called Google Latitude. This is a very interesting application in that it allows friends to see where friends are located, or managers to see where his or her work teams, vehicles and job sites are located.

In the past, this functionality has only been available to companies for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars (or name your currency). You could find these features on enterprise quality work order management solutions or proof-of-delivery solutions for handheld PDAs and Smartphones. Google has a way of shaking the industry up by making mobile applications free.

Today, for free, a manager can implement Google Latitude on his company issued handheld PDAs and Smartphones and see where his workers are at all times. The manager, from his desktop, can view a map of the location of all of these mobile handhelds.

In a previous article I wrote about the inefficiencies caused by a lack of management visibility and knowledge on the location of their employees, job sites and inventory. Here is an excerpt on how to waste time and money:

1. Waste time and fuel driving back and forth to the office to pick-up and deliver new work orders, tools and parts. With the high cost of fuel, reducing driving distances is a necessity. Can you dispatch a service technician directly from their home to a nearby jobsite? Can you make sure your service technician has the most common parts in the van before they travel to the jobsite?
2. Waste time and fuel by being unprepared for the job and driving around looking for parts. Can you reduce travel time and fuel costs by being better prepared for the job before traveling? Can you ask customers for more information on the equipment such as brand, serial number, year, location, problem etc? Can you ask the customer for a digital photo of the equipment, serial number, etc., and email it before dispatching the service technician?
3. Sit outside of a locked and vacant location wasting time waiting for the owner to arrive. Can you set up an automated phone call to let the customer know you are on the way? This avoids showing up at a vacant house or closed business and wasting time.
4. Send service technicians to a distant location, when another service technician is closer and available. Can you use GPS tracking on the vans to better know the location of all service technicians so you can dispatch the closest and best service technician for the job?
5. Miss opportunities to sell more services, parts and equipment to the customer at the time of work and at the point-of-work. Can you automatically remind the service technician to promote service contracts by using a mobile handheld work order system? This will help increase service contract sales.
6. Poor scheduling and routing. Can you schedule service contract visits based on geographic location to reduce fuel costs and wasted travel time? Can a service technician complete more service calls in a day if they are routed more efficiently?
7. Drive large and heavy vehicles when not required. If you have a better understanding of the parts required for today’s service calls, can you take a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle to the jobsite?
8. Implement poor cash management and collection processes. Can you collect money, swipe credit cards and print receipts from a mobile handheld device to improve collections at the jobsite? Are you wasting time, paper and postage sending out invoices weeks after the work was completed?
9. Too much administrative costs. Can you reduce the costs of data entry and administrative staff by automating the dispatch process by using wireless work order dispatch that is integrated directly with your work order management and accounting systems?Every company, upon self-evaluation, will be able to identify additional inefficiencies that can be corrected and reduced. Many of the costly inefficiencies can be resolved by automating and mobilizing field services business processes.

Google Latitude would allow an Operations Manager to dispatch and route his service technicians or delivery vans based upon current locations of his employees and vehicles.


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Google and Cloud Computing Comes to Mobile Handheld PDAs and Smartphone Users

Google has just announced they will be offering synchronization and support for Cloud computing for mobile and wireless handheld PDAs and smartphones users including those using the:

iPhone
BlackBerry
Nokia S60
Nokia standard
Sony Ericsson
Windows Mobile

Why is this important? It demonstrates a trend that people are moving away from the view that their desktops or laptops are the center of the universe, to a view that Cloud Computing - their online Google or Yahoo Accounts are the center.

Google has now enabled synchronization directly through any wireless connection to your online account(s). Your contacts and calendars and other Google Apps no longer must be synchronized through a desktop, iTunes account or laptop. This is big news! This functionality permits the concept of a truly untethered mobile computing environment for handheld PDAs and smartphones. The home or work desktop is no longer the anchor weighing you down. You are free to move around the world and have access to your valuable content and applications.

I can't emphasize enough what a monumental change this is for mobile users. The advent of the iPhone and other convergent multi-media mobile handhelds along with synchronization to the Cloud where hundreds of Google Apps exists changes everything.

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PDAs and Handhelds Used for Medical Research Projects in Peru

In this article the use of handheld PDAs on a medical research project in Peru is detailed. The handhedl PDAs provided the following benefits:

• reduced delays
• reduced errors
• reduced workload
• reduced the time it took to process medical data by 15 days
• prevented lost data
• patients could be monitored in a more timely manner

Here are the details of the study and the use of the handheld PDAs as was detailed in this article in the article at ITExaminer.com Patients with drug resistant tuberculosis undergo a two year regime of powerful antibiotics, including injections six days a week during the first six months, with monthly testing. The test results dictate the course of treatment. The half-month delay in getting information from the outback to the city medical facility disrupted the treatment plan.

Here is a description, as described in this article in the Hindu News, of the patient record process before the use of handheld PDAs -

Under the old patient tracking system, a team of four healthcare workers would visit more than 100 health care centers and labs twice a week to record patient test results on paper sheets. A couple of times a week, they returned to their main office to transcribe those results onto two sets of forms per patient — one for the doctors and one for the health care administrators.

From start to finish, that process took an average of more than three weeks per patient. In some extreme cases, results were temporarily misplaced and could take up to three months to be recorded. There was also greater potential for error because information was copied by hand so many times.

Collecting of data in the field and synchronizing the data to a centralized database application for immediate storage and analysis reduces the need to manually retype all of the information and eliminates time delays that may cause treatment problems. Re-typing data from paper forms introduces more errors in the data and increases the workload for clinicians, so avoiding those issues by using handheld pdas for data collection and synchronization was found to have many benefits.

Additional news articles on the use of handheld PDAs in remote locations in healthcare can be found here.

The Power of Digital Cameras on PDAs, Handhelds and Smartphones

In this morning's newspaper there was an article called, "With New Smartphones, Doctors Reinvent the House call." The article relates how a Doctor can use a smartphone, PDA or other handheld computers to quickly view x-rays and give advice remotely. Other applications mentioned were for perusing pharmaceutical libraries and for showing educating patients with anatomical drawings. Although each of these applications are useful, I believe the real power comes from the ability to remotely collaborate with other team members that can all look at the sames information, in high definition and exchange real time data and thoughts. It is amazing what can be accomplished with these new mobile devices.

Digital Cameras in handhelds, PDAs and smartphones are becoming very powerful tools. Today, Sony Ericcsson announced they have included a 12 mega pixel camera in one of their new smartphones called the Idou. In the context of the healthcare field you can image how useful 12 mega pixel photos can be to healthcare professionals where clarity of x-rays, ultra-sounds and other images are critical.

There are many other uses for powerful cameras, crystal clear images and high speed data connections. In the context of the military or field engineers, they ability to see clear satellite images of objects on the ground is very important.

Several years ago I worked on a mobile project for the state of Washington in the USA. They were doing erosion surveys around rivers and creeks. They could do in-depth studies on river erosion from satellite images, but in designated areas they wanted to look at particular events on the ground. Rugged handheld computers with excellent screens and clear photos allowed them to quickly identify objects and geological events on the ground that required a closer look. The GPS coordinates led them to the exact location and then clear photos helped them survey specific areas.

The ability to move data, in real time, from office computers and database applications to mobile devices is a complex task. The ability to quickly develop custom mobile applications that provide you with both data collection capabilities and the synchronization of data from the office takes special technology developed by companies such as MobileDataforce and others.

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Ericsson Turns to Navigation for Mobile Handheld PDAs and Smartphones

In an article in today's Wall Street Journal called Ericsson Turns to Navigation it is reported that Ericsson is looking at navigation applications with voice commands as an revenue stream for their carrier partners. Everyone is getting into the act because the bigger screens on smartphones and mobile handheld PDAs like some lines from Ericsson, Blackberrys and iPhones make it easier to see maps and read directions while on the move.

Navigation applications and data for consumers will be quickly followed by applications designed for businesses. Navigation and voice directions can be integrated into delivery, work order and inspection applications on mobile handheld PDAs.

Google has already created consumer oriented applications for iPhones that let friends know where friends are on a map. It won't be long until businesses can also see the location of their employees, job sites and company vehicles via PDAs, handhelds and Smartphones. Google makes this application free. I believe applications like this will quickly become available as widgets or gadgets that any software developer can quickly add to their mobile application.

It is a fun and exciting time in the mobile handheld PDA technology world.

Sky Technologies have announced the launch of SkyMobile Smart Client for SAP® on Nokia Smart Phones and PDAs

Sky Technologies out of Australia seems to be spending some big money to make a push into the SAP mobile application market. In the past week I have read about their expansion to the USA with the opening of a Seattle, WA office, and the release of a new framework for mobile SAP integration. On top of all that, they state they will support the following operating systems, Windows Mobile, Blackberry platforms, iPhone and Android smart clients in 2009.


Sky Technologies has announced the released of its SkyMobile Smart Client for the Symbian OS (Series 60 3rd Edition FP1+). “This enables SAP® users to effectively deploy mobile solutions such as proof of delivery, field service and business work flow solutions onto a wide range of Symbian based handsets. This is primarily targeted at the Nokia smart phone market and is designed to be pre-cursor to the new Symbian open platform."

If Sky Technologies' information is accurate it represents tens of millions of dollars worth of investment in supporting multiple mobile device platforms and operating systems in a tough economic climate. It will be interesting to see if this shotgun approach to developing mobile software and throwing large amounts of money at growing a mobile software company in a rough market will pay off, or suffer the same results as Appforge and Dexterra.

Comparing Netbooks, Mini-Notebooks, PDAs and Handhelds in Field Services

I am a big fan of Netbooks and Mini-Notebooks. These are lightweight portable computers generally with 7-inch to 11-inch screen sizes optimized for internet connectivity. They often have exceptional battery life and can be used as a truly convergent device. Often they are optimized to run the complete Microsoft Office Suite. This article discusses them in more details.

The term Netbook refers to the fact that they are optimized to work on the internet. They are mobile internet devices that also have the power to run your standard office software applications. Doesn't most mobile handheld devices and PDAs that run Windows Mobile already provide these functions? Yes, but the 7"-11" screen is a vast improvement, especially for people needing to do real work, process and read large amounts of data and read diagrams, maps and drawings.

The Netbook, as a mobile internet device, should be set-up to access online documents, manuals and work order applications through simple internet logins. These devices can be generic enough to be shared by a complete workforce. In the morning the user can simply check out a Netbook, login and have access to all the information they need in the field.

Let's take the example of a service technician in the field. A small mobile phone is just not a good option for comprehensive work order management. It will quickly kill the eyes of the user. You need a bigger screen to work with any kind of data intensive work orders or parts catalogs. At the same time, you do not want the bulk and weight of a full size laptop. A small Netbook with a 7 inch screen can fit in the pocket or in a padded pouch easily. The screen size is big enough to show a lot of information and data fields without constant scrolling.

In situations where internet connections will be intermittent you may want to consider a work order management system that can function equally well connected or disconnected and use database synchronization in the background. Vendors like MobileDataforce specialize in these areas.

SAP, Landis+Gyr, Electrical Utilities and Mobile Handheld PDAs

SAP, the world's leading provider of business software, announced yesterday a new partnership with Landis+Gyr, a leading provider of integrated energy management solutions. This partnership includes a software development agreement for the integration of Landis+Gyr's advanced metering infrastructure with the SAP® for Utilities solution portfolio using enterprise services.

You are seeing SAP recognize that there are many specialized business processes that are needed beyond their core ERP solutions, and outside the four walls of the office in mobile environments. SAP has been seeking partnerships that address the industry specific business process needs of companies with mobile workforces.

So far, SAP has seemed willing to give up the mobile applications market for PDAs, handhelds and rugged mobile computers to third parties, and restrict themselves to developing APIs and enterprise service integration repositories for specialized third party mobile application companies like MobileDataforce and others.

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SAP Business Suite 7.0, iPhones, Blackberrys and Mobile Handheld Applications

Today SAP announced the release of Business Suite 7. Reuters reports the following mobile application news concerning SAP's Business Suite 7.0:

Unlike previous SAP products, all programs in the suite will have a common interface, making them easier to use and less cumbersome for IT staff to implement, the sources said.
It is designed to easily work on mobile devices such as the BlackBerry and iPhone, they said.
SAP already offers mobile features in a few packages, such as programs that companies use to manage sales, but has yet to offer those functions across its full line of applications.

SAP's answer to supporting mobile applications is to develop a common interface, web based, and let mobile devices access it via the web. This may work for mobile workers with 100% access to the Internet, but what about mobile workers that travel to remote locations or anywhere with intermittent connections? I have not seen SAP address this issue with an online/offline version of their applications. They seem content to leave the offline/online enablement task to third party mobile application companies like MobileDataforce.

Mobile Handheld PDAs and Mobile Software Application Resources

If you are interested in information related to mobile computing, mobile handheld PDAs and mobile software strategies for your business, you may find this Knol (Google's name for a unity of knowledge) called Mobile Software & Handheld PDA Business Strategies valuable. It contains many useful articles on mobile computing, selecting the best mobile handhelds and advice on developing mobile software applications. Here is the table of contents for your reference:

The ROI in Mobile Applications
What ROI Can I Expect?
10 Steps to Implementing a Successful Enterprise Mobile Solution
Mobilizing and Automating Business Processses During a Down Economy
Mobilized Work Orders
Designing a Mobile Solution to Automate Business Processes
Learning from Mobile Solution Deployments
The Evolution of a Mobile Solution
Buying vs. Building Mobile Applications
Supporting a Customized Mobile Software Application

Mobile Software, PDAs, Rugged Handhelds and SAP

SAP is one of the largest software company in the world, and yet, SAP cannot easily process a simple work order or field service ticket. Think about it! Millions of people use SAP and it has difficulty processing an invoice from a plumber that fixed your office toilet. Let's explore this more.

The poor plumber completes his work, pulls out his rugged handheld PDA and fills out the electronic work order. Once it is completed he has the customer sign the screen and prints an invoice on his mobile printer. The customer (SAP user) takes the invoice and gives it to the Accounts Payable department. The Accounts Payable department looks to see what purchase order the invoice is associated with and finds none. There is now an invoice dispute.

I see this challenge with companies receiving invoices from law firms and in the Oil industry (Upstream). Both industries submit many invoices to firms using SAP and these invoices are rarely associated with a PO. What's the answer? I invite your thoughts.

Even though the world of mobile applications and rugged handheld computers may permit faster invoicing for services, there still needs to be business process improve on the customer side in order for efficiencies to be realized.

New Trimble Nomad 800 Handheld PDA

Timble announced today the release of three new models of their rugged handheld PDA called the Nomad™ 800X Series. It is designed for use in the rain, snow and mud. It would be nice if all of us worked in comfortable, safe and warm environments, but that just doesn't happen in the real world. Construction projects, law enforcement, inspections, engineering and maintenance and many service industries spend nearly all of their time in the wilds.

These rugged handhelds are larger than a consumer grade handheld PDA or smartphone, but are the perfect size for an industrial use where the ruggedized protection is required.

Why are Mobile Applications for Handheld PDAs So Hard to Develop?

Mobile software applications for businesses are getting better and more advanced today, but they are still very difficult and expensive to develop on your own. Why? Let's talk about some of the challenges.

The mobile handheld PDA industry is divided up among, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Apple iPhones, Palm, RIM Blackberry and many other unique operating systems. This means that a software developer must either invest in many different development tools and training classes, or choose to be only a niche player.

If a developer chooses to be a niche player and develop only for Windows Mobile or the iPhone, they are reducing their overall use potential and betting that the devices supported by these operating system will continue to be popular long enough to deliver a positive ROI for the original development effort.

Once a developer chooses the operating system they will support, they have the next challenge which is how to decide how to support the specific features in many different kinds of mobile handheld devices and PDAs. Many devices have different buttons, screen sizes, operating speeds, memory, and other add-on accessories. The developer must decide which subset of features and hardware configurations they will support.

If you are a software developer in a large enterprise that had thousands of employees and a global distribution, then how do you get a consensus on which mobile handheld devices and smart phones you will support? This is a big challenge.

So far we have just listed a few of the challenges related to the mobile software application. These applications have very little value unless they can synchronize and share data with the enterprise database applications in the office. Each operating system and database vendor will have their own kind of synchronization technologies. What mobile database will you develop on? How does it synchronize with your specific office database application?

Does the software in your office have a mobile client, or do you have to develop a custom mobile application? How do you synchronize and share data between your mobile device and your office software if it is not defined by your vendor?

Who will update the software everytime there is a new mobile operating system released? Windows Mobile seems to come up with a new version every year, and Apple about every 3-6 months. Once new OS versions are released, it is very difficult to find mobile handhelds that support the older versions. Therefore to keep your mobile application useful and relevant you must either stockpile lots of mobile devices that support the older versions, or keep you mobile application updated to the latest OS. It is not easy to convince your business manager to support the current development project plus all future update projects. They want to pay once and be done with it. Mobile technology changes to quickly to support this model. Often mobile application development projects are not completed before the next mobile OS is released. Ouch!

These are just some of the challenges IT developers face on a daily basis when working with mobile applications. The right strategy for many of these issues is to find a good RAD (rapid application development) environment for developing a wide range of mobile applications. Many of these issues have been resolved by these vendors. It would rarely make sense for an IT developer to try to figure out all of these issues on their own as IT budgets would rarely afford the time and resources to get through the learning curve.

MobileDataforce is one of many vendors that help developers and businesses work with these issues.

Custom Mobile Software Applications for Handheld PDAs - Don't Start from Scratch

As fun as it may sound to build a custom mobile software application from scratch, I would invite you to consider the merits of using a mobile application development tool kit before you start.

The concept of a mobile application development tool kit, for developing mobile software for handheld PDAs, in this discussion means a software application that has many pre-built functions and supports many mobile project requirements out-of-the box. Many components of a mobile software application should be provided pre-developed in a tool kit, so you can configure not develop them from scratch. Components and functions such as:

• support for GPS
• support for multiple screen sizes
• support for storing and synchronizing digital images
  support for synchronization of data between a mobile device and an enterprise database
• support for RFID
• support for various button configurations on different models of handheld devices and Smart phones
• support for various security configurations
• support for bluetooth
• support for disconnected applications
• support for a wide range of Tablet PCs, laptops, Windows CE.NET, Windows Mobile etc.
• support for audio memo capture
• support for various bar code scanners
• support for new versions of popular operating systems and their new features
• support for odbc database integration
• support for data validations on the mobile devices
• support for various business logic and business rules requirements
• Mobile screen design tools
• much more...

Again the above components and functions need not be developed new for every project. They should be provided pre-developed by your mobile software development tool kit vendor. They are pre-developed, assumed-to-be debugged and tested, added to the tool kit library, improved over time and expanded so all developers can take advantage of them. There is no value added by your internal software development team building what is already available and market tested for less costs than developing in-house.

Many systems integrators and IT consultants have told me they can not profitably run a mobile application practice if they develop custom mobile applications from scratch. They want to configure mobile solutions, not design and program every possible custom scenario.

MobileDataforce is the developer of a mobile software development tool kit called PointSync.

Inspection Software for Handheld PDAs in Mobile Environments

Many inspection services companies work in mobile and rugged environments. They invest time and money into traveling to the point of work. The more time traveling, the less time providing inspection services. In this blog article we will discuss some strategies for saving time, reducing expenses and providing more services using mobile handheld PDA and mobile software technologies.

Many inspections are follow-up inspections or reoccurring inspections on a schedule. In these kinds of inspections the inspector must reference previous inspection data. If the previous inspections were conducted on paper, then the inspector must acquire a copy of these previous inspections to take with them on the next visit. This often requires extra costs associated with driving time, gas and missed opportunity costs (less time inspecting and getting paid).

I remember working with a state agency responsible for inspecting professional licenses and premises. In order to perform their tasks, they were required to drive into the main office, rummage through paper files, remove these paper files and load them into a box to take with them to the inspection sites. They would use a carriage with wheels to transport this box to their automobiles. Let's pause a moment to think of the costs and inefficiencies of these task. They did the following:

• Drove to the main office where previous inspections were stored
• Sorted through file cabinets for previous inspection results
• Read through these files to determine any previous non-compliance or failed inspection issues.
• Recorded issues and highlighted them for review at the site
• Loaded these files into a box and carried them out to their vehicles
• Re-inspected the site and recorded more information on new forms
• Added new paper forms to the files
• Drove back to the main office
• Administration staff typed all the information from the new forms into a database system on a desktop computer

A simple database synchronization with a handheld PDA, laptop or Tablet PC from the field could have completed most of the above tasks in seconds. The inefficiencies listed above are not uncommon. Inspection software applications can be developed that synchronize directly to the central database. Queries on past inspections can quickly provide historic inspection data at the point of work without all the extra expense of driving to the office and manually searching through file cabinets. The time re-typing inspection data can be eliminated as well.

In these times of economic challenges, companies are looking for ways to do more with less. Mobile solutions can provide many cost savings and allow companies to conduct more services with less resources. For more information on mobile inspection solutions please contact MobileDataforce.

Juno SC Handhelds

Trimble has just announced their new Juno SC handheld. This device is meant for people that work out of doors and need a pocket sized and industrial strength GPS unit that uses a Microsoft Windows Mobile OS.

The value of using a Windows Mobile OS is that many mobile software development tools like PointSync from MobileDataforce uses Windows Mobile. You can develop and customize nearly any kind of mobile software application you can image to run on this device.

"The Juno series handhelds are the ideal solution for GIS-enabled organizations that require high productivity from their mobile field workforce," said Peter Large, general manager of Trimble's Mapping and GIS Division.

An iPhones is My Mobile Phone and Handheld PDA

I have and use an iPhone as my primary mobile computing device which means a PDA or Smartphone. It has some exceptional features including:

• GPS
• Easy application uploading and updating
• High speed Internet
• Great screen
• Many great operational features for ease of use

However, the iPhone has some problems or is missing some key features that are required by business users including:

• GPS fails to track fast enough to use while driving
• GPS fails to pinpoint the location of the user
• No TASK function - Apple has not included even a basic TASK function. Many of my colleagues use the standard Microsoft TASK function regularly, and Apple's exclusion of this simple but useful tool is strange
• No CUT and PASTE function - The exclusion of this feature is another strange choice by Apple - who wants to retype every note or phone number that needs to be moved around on the iPhone....what a pain. My only guess is that Apple wants to train us to email everything to a desktop or laptop for editing....very strange and inefficient
• The keyboard on the iPhone is clever, but Apple makes another very strange choice to limit the email keyboard to portrait view only. The Internet browser permits a landscaped keyboard which is very nice, but the keyboard in the email only allows portrait...this view of the keyboard is too small for fast and effective 2 fingered typing. Why would they limit the keyboard in the very application where fast typing is most required?
• The landscape view of an Internet browser is too small for viewing. It is nice that they try to show you a complete view of a full sized website, but it is too small for real use. You continue to find yourself enlarging the view and scrolling all around the website to view it. Not convenient or enjoyable.

I spent some time reviewing all of the applications available on iTunes for the iPhone in December 2008. There were many interesting applications, but there was an obvious lack of real business applications. I consider real business applications as running relational databases and synchronizing or communicating directly with recognized business software applications like SAP. Where are the applications that extend workflows from ERPs into the field?

The lack of real business applications again points to the challenging environment of mobile software. The market is so fragmented that mobile users will find it hard to find a mobile version of their exact ERP or Field Service application. This means companies will need to develop their own customized version, use an experienced mobile software development company or use a mobile software development tool kit from a company like MobileDataforce.

Why is it hard to find a mobile version of your office software? Software companies need to find markets where they can build one software application and then sell it many times to make a profit. In IT environments where customized database applications and customized workflows are the norm, mobile software companies are not able to pre-build mobile applications. They don't know how you want the application to function or what data you need in the field. This must be configured on a customized basis in most companies. Therefore, companies need to work with a mobile software company that can offer a cost effective, very flexible mobile software toolkit so you can take advantage of their tools, synchronizing technologies and application development environments to keep the development costs reasonable.

Mobile Applications for Handheld PDAs and Business Process Automation

Some of the most important and valuable components of SAP's ERPs are the best practices business processes and work flows that are developed in them. These are automated processes that ensure that the business is completed in the appropriate way each time. These work flows and business processes have evolved and improved over the past couple of decades with much research, trial and error. Now that they are highly developed, wouldn't it be a shame to lose the benefit of them when applications go mobile and are used on handheld PDAs and smartphones?

Business process automation is even more necessary when workers are mobile and working away from management oversight. How, when and why should information be collected from the remote work site? How should you handle the need to purchase replacement parts for the equipment you are repairing 50 miles from the office? What paper work do you need to fill out? How do you hire temporary labor at a remote work site? What paper work needs filled out and what information needs sent back to the office so paychecks can be processed? The answers and processes for these kinds of issues are usually pre-determined and pre-configured in the ERP system, but not often on the mobile software that runs on your smartphone or handheld PDA.

When considering the use of mobile software applications, ask your SAP consultant or mobile software vendor how they can help mobile workers by extending business process automation to mobile handhelds and smartphones.

Enterpise Mobile Applications on Handheld PDAs and ERPs

SAP, the world's third largest software company, has defined and standardized many business processes. These business processes are used to ensure repeatable and quality business practices inside the four walls of the organization. The challenge - these business processes are often lost once a worker becomes mobile.

Mobile workers are often disconnected from their company's ERP once they are on the road. Many have Blackberrys or other handheld PDAs or smartphones that allow for a quick ERP query, email or message, but they rarely extend the work flow to a mobile environment.

When a company pays tens of millions of dollars for an ERP like SAP or Oracle, and 40% of their work force is mobile - someone ought to be thinking about extending a work flow out to a mobile device. Blackberrys don't have the robust operating system that Window Mobile does so it may be more of a challenge for Blackberry users. However, companies like MobileDataforce specialize in creating mobile applications that extend your ERP's work flow into the mobile world.

FieldSync Automotive for Mobile Handheld PDAs Hits SEMA with a Storm

This week the MDF sales team attened the SEMA show in Las Vegas. If you are not familiar with the SEMA Show, it is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world. It draws the hottest products for the automotive industry to one place and we were there in force. The show attracts more than 120,000 industry leaders from over 100 countries.

Our booth was a HUGE success! We introduced the latest version of FieldSync Automotive, for use on mobile handheld PDAs, which hosts a slew of new features like Estimating, RO#/PO# reference and enhanced reporting capabilities. Our booth was surrounded by interested parties who were anxious to test drive FieldSync Automotive. After viewing FieldSync one visitor commented, "this will revolutionize our business."

That's our goal - delivering mobile solutions that extend business processes into mobile environments.

We are looking forward to 2009 with great anticipation!

I anticipate 2009 will bring more off the shelf FieldSync products so stay tuned as we move to bridge the gap between your field workers and the home office.