Computing is on the move! Many businesses are wondering if mobile computing devices (such hand-held personal digital assistants or "PDAs", feature-packed cell phones, mini-e-mail devices, etc.) represent a frivolous investment in new gadgets with no pay off, or is there real bottom line value in giving people mobility? The answer to this question, of course, rests with each individual business and the particular problems that need solutions. Before making an investment in wireless computing hardware or services, consider whether your company has lost opportunities because of data being inaccessible or people being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If this is a common situation for you, a mobile solution may help.

For example, many sales driven organizations rely on very current pricing data to remain competitive, with prices fluctuating daily or even hourly. Historically, businesses competing in this manner have relied on sales people checking in by fax or phone, often from the client's location during a sales meeting or, equally as likely, sales people make their best unconfirmed quote and check back with the client when they have access to the current data. In the first scenario, someone has to be present in the office to forward a fax or respond to a call - not always the best use of human resources. In the second, the client can gather other competitive quotes in the interim, while waiting for the confirmation, and the business can be lost. Properly configured, a mobile computing solution can deliver up to date sales, pricing and availability data to the sales person on the spot, allowing for sales to be closed more quickly with fewer resources being used. Similar efficiencies are being found on the supply side, as "just in time" deliveries can be monitored, tracked, re-routed or expedited through the use of wireless communications devices.

Communications vs. Data Transfer

As you examine your business to see if a wireless solution might be appropriate, ask yourself if your business would run more smoothly if people were more easily accessible, or if data were more easily accessible, or both. If your business stops in its tracks whenever a particular key individual cannot be reached for a decision, then that person may need a wireless solution to keep them in the loop. A voice device (cell phone), a text device (RIM - Blackberry) or a pager might help - nowadays, these three functions can be found in a single device. Such devices are good for receiving communications (voice, simple text and alerts) but are not great at responding. Voice technology has seen the greatest improvement over the last 10 years - but sending text e-mail via a telephone keypad can be a frustrating and prohibitively time-consuming exercise.

Cell phones and the like are typically not equipped to manage significant amounts of data. If timely data acquisition is the barrier in your business, then a high-end wireless PDA might solve your problem. For example, some utility companies in the US are equipping their field service personnel with wireless PDAs that upload completed work order information to a central data receiver in a main office. This same device downloads the next day's work order information, with all the last minute changes and adjustments. Maps, special instructions and other details can easily be communicated and read on such PDAs. This increases customer service efficiency and cuts down on the number of visits required to the central office by the field service personnel.

Some Guidelines Before You Purchase:

Synchronicity/Compatibility: Try to equip your staff with the same hardware rather than allotting a budget to each individual and hoping they buy the right thing. You will want to set up processes, data transfers and service agreements that support the entire user base and it is crucial that all related equipment be compatible. Achieving this is particularly difficult in a small business environment in which individuality is valued and each user may prefer to buy the phone or PDA that they find most convenient, attractive or easy to use. You may find it beneficial to do a market survey of devices that your employees find easiest to use and that also answer your business needs.

Look Ahead - Standards: Wireless standards keep changing and it will pay off for you to find out where current and future wireless standards have coverage. Soon, within the next 18 months, there will be a major shift in the communications standards which will mean that many of the devices currently in use will be obsolete. They will still be usable but incompatible with the new, faster data transmission standard (3G) for which all new wireless improvements will be designed. On the other hand, the current standard has the greatest coverage. Ask your wireless service provider how they are approaching transmission standards and what would be the best route for your company to follow over the next few years.

Monthly costs: The capital cost of investing in the right hardware is just the first step. There will be a monthly bill arriving to cover air time for the data and voice transmissions used. The number of ways you can be charged for this is mind-boggling and, it seems, expanding with every new company that is able to offer wireless service. It pays to do a regular market scan on which companies are offering good deals on wireless. Balance this with the level of service, quality of transmission you receive, and coverage. For example, if you need to be able to have solid, reliable coverage in Toronto, Northern Ontario and Manitoba, you may have only one or two providers to choose from. If you need coverage only in the Greater Toronto Area, your choices may be much wider.

Words of Warning on Wireless:

Please remember - properly implemented, wireless data and voice can make people and data more accessible. That is the key benefit. Wireless communications are inferior to "wired" in the following ways:

Security: Wireless transmissions (both data and voice) can be intercepted. A small investment in a scanner from Radio Shack can give the amateur eavesdropper tons of valuable and sensitive information. Never give out your credit card number or discuss sensitive personal or business information over a cell phone or even a cordless phone inside your home. Save such transmissions for a land line.

Bandwidth: Even the forthcoming 3G standard will not come close to providing the speed of transmission of a "wired" network. It is a myth that wireless bandwidth is larger than cabled - we are a long way from exchanging large multimedia files through the air. Data documents, usually much smaller, stretch available wireless bandwidth to its limits. This is one of the reasons the movement to XML is gaining momentum - the data files produced by XML programs are much smaller than traditional databases and are therefore more useful within a wireless communications strategy.

Reliability and Accuracy: Wireless transmissions are susceptible to "line noise", just as "wired" networks are, only the causes are different and more common. Competing radio frequency crossovers, weather, magnetic fields generated by industry, and many other types of interference can impede the signal. I notice this myself when I park my car in certain areas and my remote car alarm keychain (a wireless device I have come to rely on to secure the vehicle) won't work. This is due to competing signals on the same frequency in the neighbourhood where I have parked. The next time you see me wandering in circles around my car, holding my remote signaller high in the air and then low to the ground in an attempt to lock my car - remember that the same interference can happen to your data while in transmission. Always have a back-up plan for sending data should the original signal be blocked.

In this article, I hoped to identify some issues which will help businesses make good choices regarding their wireless investment. I have not spent much time defining all the terms and technologies related to wireless computing. There are many excellent resources online to learn more about the specifics - here are some links to get you started:

http://cbc.ca/national/news/wireless/

http://www.cio.com/communications/edit/120701_abc_wireless.html