Mobile Convergent Devices and Applications

I can't let this experience go undocumented. I am sitting in Starbucks drinking a Mocha, writing a blog article, chatting with an international client on skype, checking and responding to emails, taking phone calls, recording voice memos, accessing spreadsheets on Google Docs, scheduling meetings and listening to music all on my iPhone.

Yes, sometimes I must ask everyone in Starbucks to stop talking while I am on important calls, but other than that I have complete mobile office. My iPhone has effectively converged most applications and required office equipment into one small mobile device that is now an essential tool for mobile workers.

As I noted last week iPhones can also photograph and identify bar codes, use its integrated GPS to show your current location and nearby business and much more. Convergence is real.

- Kevin Benedict,
Mobile Technology Writer and Consultant

Mobile Smart Phones for Work & Play

I am consulting now days and my iPhone is used for both personal and professional purposes. Several weeks ago I complained in an article about having to use my personal phone number and voice mail for business.

A kind reader suggested that I try the new Google Voice service. I did and am still learning it but it has some interesting feature that I find handy for mobile workers.

Google let me pick a phone number from any location in the USA. I thought about getting a New York City number to be clever, but being clever generally gets me in trouble so chose a Boise prefix and number.

Once I had a Google phone number, I was asked to forward it to my mobile, home or work phone. So now one number can follow me to any location, phone or mobile device. My iPhone now has 2 phone numbers, one that came with the iPhone and now the Google number. I also have 2 different voice mails. One that came with my iPhone service and Google voice mail.

It gets better, Google transcribes any voice mails and sends it to my email address. I could be in New Zealand but read my voice mails through any Internet connection.

I know there is a lot more to learn about Google Voice, but I need to find a different issue to complain about now.

Enterprise 2.0 and Mobile Software Applications

The term Enterprise 2.0 is receiving a lot of press these days (see definition of Enterprise 2.0). In this article we are going to discuss possible use cases for Enterprise 2.0 in the context of enterprise mobile applications.

Carl Frappaolo and Dan Keldsen defined Enterprise 2.0 in this way, "a system of web based technologies that provide rapid and agile collaboration (kudos for buzz words), information sharing, emergence and integration capabilities in the extended enterprise." The bottom line, unstructured information sharing tools for use by the enterprise.

Many of the online references to Enterprise 2.0 are referring to intranet or internal company communications. Since mobility is more interesting, let's focus on how Enterprise 2.0 could be used external to the company in a B2B (business to business) context.

OK, an EnterpriseBook instead of a FaceBook. What information would one company like to share with another? Hummm...location of job sites, upcoming projects, RFPs, press releases, announcements, product catalogs etc. The problem is that when money is on the line companies go silent. They want to control the communication of information and protect the business. They don't want to share information that could fall into the hands of a competitor. So where is the value for enterprise mobile applications?

I see the value when multiple partners win business together. Let's say 6 companies are working together to complete a building project. These companies need to share and collaborate information on various parts of the project. The framers need to know when the foundation is completed, the plumbers need to know when the walls are up, the roofers need to know when the plywood is in place, etc. All of these mobile contractors need to know the status of the project. It would be good to see project photos. It would be good to know about any issues in advance. It would be nice to know what is going to be done today, an online project journal in the status section of EnterpriseBook.

Many of the contractors mentioned above work in mobile environments. They would benefit from having a mobile version of Enterprise 2.0 on a Smart phone or other ruggedized mobile handheld computer.

I could also see trusted business partners sharing sales leads. They could quickly identify the GPS coordinates of a potential lead and share with one of their partners.

How about sharing the price of medical insurance among business partners, or sharing the price of different medical procedures (ICD9 codes) in different medical practices so you can reward the medical practices with the most reasonable rates with your business?

Perhaps form your own buyers' co-op online through EnterpriseBook. You and your company's partners could combine your buying power for shared products and services. The discounted products and services could be listed in mobile applications integrated with GPS features so the various locations of the discounted products could show up on your map. Silly? Perhaps, but many new innovations start this way.

For a related article on Enterprise 2.0 from SD Times click here.

OK, it is now your turn! Where is the value for Enterprise 2.0 in the context of enterprise mobility? Please comment or send me an email.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobile Strategy, Sales and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Barcode Scans and Prices on Mobile Handheld Computers and Smart Phones

Last week I wrote an article pondering the benefits of using my iPhone to capture the bar code on grocery store products, using the integrated digital camera, and then have my iPhone use its GPS coordinates to look at the prices of this product in other grocery store locations that are close to mine.

In the comments part of that article, I received some good feedback from industry veterans identifying some of the challenges to accomplishing that dream. For example grocery stores don't want you shopping around for other products so don't publish their prices, and grocery stores don't want the food manufacturers promoting their products at other locations.

I did receive some links to software companies that are taking steps in that direction. Here is one link from Pic2Shop for your reference.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobile Strategy, Sales and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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Mobile Field Services Score Cards

Mobile score cards for field service technicians. That is an interesting notion that is written about in this article. You combine mobile work order management applications, with mobile business intelligence dashboards and perhaps even mobile customer surveys. The results are a score that is shared company wide to all field service technicians.

In this scenario, everyone can see the total number of work orders a technician has completed each week, plus the results of customer satisfaction surveys and the totals of any products or services each technician has sold. This score is presented on a mobile dashboard on each of the technician's mobile handheld computers or Smart phones.

The idea is that a competitive spirit and peer pressure will encourage and motivate field service technicians to do the things that most benefit the company.

The customer service survey, each service technician must have the customer fill out on the screen of the mobile device, helps keep the service technician focused on the customer's satisfaction level.

Have you seen this kind of mobile software application before? Please share your thoughts.

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Author Kevin Benedict
Independent Mobile Strategy, Sales and Marketing Consultant
www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbenedict
http://mobileenterprisestrategies.blogspot.com/
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