MobileDataforce Announces a Reseller Agreement with Abox for Mobile Software

MobileDataforce announces today a reseller partnership with Abox. In this agreement Abox will resell MobileDataforce's mobile software, the PointSync Mobility Platform in Spain, Portugal, France and many areas of Africa. We are very excited about this relationship. This will help us provide our customers and sales prospects with localized sales and technical support across a significant geographical area for our mobile software solutions used on handheld PDAs and Smartphones.

MobileDataforce's market for handheld PDA and smartphone software has been growing rapidly around the world with offices in North America, Sydney, Australia and Den Bosch, The Netherlands.

Our channel partners are the key to our success. They provide localized business knowledge as well as vertical expertise.

MobileDataforce Announces a Reseller Agreement with Sybase South Africa

MobileDataforce today announces a reseller partnership with Sybase South Africa for delivering mobile handheld PDA and smartphone applications. In this reseller partnership, Sybase South Africa will be reselling MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform to companies and government agencies interested in field mobility including, inspection software, work orders and asset management on handheld PDAs and smartphones.

Interest in MobileDataforce's mobile software solutions is growing rapidly and we have a significant sales pipeline in South Africa that reflects an expanding market for mobile applications.

We are very excited to work with Sybase South African. This partnership will enable MobileDataforce's mobile solutions to be supported locally with the highest level of professionalism and attention.

Airlines and PDAs

NEW YORK (CNN) -- From cell phone use to high-speed Internet access, the connected life is spreading to the skies.

In January, Emirates airline plans to launch mobile phone usage in its planes, making it the first airline to allow passengers to make cell phone calls on its flights. And Australian carrier Qantas plans to start evaluating technology that lets fliers use their cell phones and PDAs during flight early next year.

10 Steps to a Successful Mobile Software Deployment on Handheld PDAs and Smartphones

Tim Cerami, a brilliant Mobile Systems Architect here at MobileDataforce, did us all a big service by documenting his thoughts on how to conduct a successful mobile software deployment on smartphones and handheld PDAs in the following article.

Introduction:
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 is becoming a priority. The following 10 steps identify how you can get started automating and mobilizing these business processes.


Step 1 – Understand the ROI/Scope of the Project and Plan Ahead

“What’s the number one reason a mobile project fails?” is a common question we get asked. The answers are that many companies don’t put enough upfront thought into defining the requirements, scheduling testing resources and planning a deployment strategy. The results of these deficiencies are project scope creep, cost overruns, missed deadlines, poor user acceptance and sometimes even complete project failure.

Step 2 – Build a Team of Stakeholders

Make sure the members of your team have the right roles and responsibilities to help the project succeed. Mobile solutions usually tie into other corporate IT assets and business processes, therefore impacted members of your IT department and business units need to be on the project team. In addition, a representative mobile field worker(s) should be included on the project team to provide valuable “real-world” insight.

Step 3 – Select a Partner That Specializes in Mobility Solutions

Performing successful data synchronization from mobile computing devices can be a challenging and complex task. There are many variables that can affect the results of synchronization. To insure you get your solution done correctly the first time, you need experienced experts in mobile technology. You need technologists who specialize in the design, development, deployment and support of enterprise mobile solutions.

Step 4 – Know Your Target Users and Their Environment
During the planning and scoping phase of your mobile project, take time to experience the working environment of your mobile workers and observe the business processes in action. Pay specific attention to how information is collected and exchanged between the office and the mobile workers. These observations can significantly impact the design, development and deployment of a successful project! Evaluate the physical environment of the work. How do moist, cold and dirty environments impact the mobile devices? How does low light or bright sunlight affect visibility of the screen? Can workers read the small text on the PDA screen, or does the text need to be larger? Step 5 – Don’t Underestimate the Complexity of Synchronizing Field Data

One of the biggest mistakes a project planner or IT department can make is to underestimate how complex data synchronization can be. Part of designing a solid and reliable mobile solution is to select robust synchronization middleware and to spend time designing and testing the data synchronization. Without the right middleware and design your end users could encounter issues such as extra long sync times (hours, not minutes), duplicate records, incomplete data, lost data and even database corruption. Every one of these issues will trickle down to your support department, so designing it right the first time is very important.

Step 6 – Build in Phases

Most successful projects involve a series of phased implementations. Each phase can be developed, tested and implemented in an orderly manner. Once a phase is deployed and proven, additional phases can be layered on top that include more features and added complexity. Remember, the more data requirements that you add the more data you must synchronize, and the longer each synchronization session will take. Only synchronize data that your remote users require in the field. In addition, most mobile devices don’t have the same CPU power or memory as a PC/laptop, so be aware of how the performance of your solution will be affected by a smaller, lower powered device.

Step 7 – Evaluate Your Hardware and Connectivity Needs

The term “mobile devices” can have many different interpretations. Today, laptops, Tablet PC’s, UMPCs, PDAs and Smart phones are all identified with this term. When determining the best mobile device for your project you will want to consider screen size, data storage capacity, security, physical working environment, required hardware accessories such as barcode scanners, GPS, digital cameras, RFID, and the ability to upgrade the device with updated hardware and software components.

How do you connect your mobile device to your enterprise database applications? You have many options including cradle, WiFi, satellite, Bluetooth, wireless, dial-up modems and satellite uplinks to name a few. The method(s) you choose will be affected by how often your mobile workers need to send/receive data. How much data will be transmitted and will they always have connectivity. Study each option, your working environment and consult your mobility partner to make the best selections.

Step 8 – Deploy to a Limited Focus Group, Evaluate and Improve

Once you have completed version 1 of your mobile solution and you are ready to deploy in the real world, roll out your solution to a small group of trusted and motivated users. Define a specific period of time to evaluate the solution, document the results and identify any required changes and improvements. The result of this evaluation should be an improved mobile solution that is ready for wide deployment.

Step 9 – Set and Enforce Hardware and Security Policies

Mobile devices are small computers with the ability to store sensitive corporate data, communicate this data over the Internet and even catch viruses. You must clearly communicate how mobile devices are to be used and for what purpose. Establish and publish guidelines for using mobile devices.

Step 10 – Provide Full Support for Mobile Users

Mobile devices are guaranteed to break. What is your plan for keeping a mobile worker productive and communicating business critical information when their mobile device ceases to function or gets misplaced? These are inevitable issues that are best planned for in advance. Have a plan and a documented back up process.

Mountain Tragedies & Modern Mobile GPS & Data Solutions

This last week I have been captivated by the tragic mountain climbing accident that took place on Mt. Hood in Oregon. Three experienced mountain climbers were caught in 100 mph winds and temperatures below zero on the very top of Mt. Hood at over 11,000 feet. It took over a week to find the snow caves that the climbers had used. Tragically it appears that they all may have succumbed to injuries and the cold. One of the climbers had been able to make a mobile phone call asking for help, but then went silent.

As a person involved in the mobile data collection software industry, I began to think about the software tools and technologies that could be used to help find missing climbers, hunters, hikers and other outdoorsman faster.

Today, many mobile Smart phones can be purchased with GPS receivers built in. Software companies like MobileDataforce can easily create data collection applications that would automatically report the location of the user at specific time intervals, distance covered, speed, and distance remaining to target destination. The GPS receiver captures the GPS coordinates, the data collection software pulls it into the database and connects to the internet at specific time intervals and uploads the data to a web based map. The user could also capture additional information such as the weather, supplies remaining, physical condition, status (resting, digging a snow cave, setting up camp, injured, etc). This is the same technology we use today for fleet tracking applications so fleet owners can know the location of each truck at any given time.

One of the necessary ingredients for a tracking solution like this is a wireless network (wireless mobile phone network or a satellite uplink). In the recent tragedy on Mt. Hood, there was indeed mobile phone connectivity available. If the climbers had had a mobile solution like this with them, their location would have been displayed on a map for the search and rescue teams to view. This would have saved hundreds of man hours devoted to searching, and would have quickly directed the search and rescue teams to the location of the Smart phones as soon as weather permitted.

The technology exists, although it remains to be seen how it would have worked in the fierce cold and rugged conditions these climbers experienced. I know batteries would be an issue, although spares could be carried. Conceptually, it seems that a simple data collection application could be configured, rented out or made available for purchase to climbers. They could register themselves with a unique ID on a website. Thus, family members and other folks interested in their location could view the web based map from any computer in the world.

This needs to be done.