How will next-generation server technology evolve in
order to support the new generation of mobile professionals? David
Bicknell assesses what you need to know in order to make sure your
servers can support the latest in mobility technology
At Intel in 1998, 80% of employees used desktop PCs, with only
20% using notebooks. Now, in common with a trend in many blue-chip
companies, that ratio has turned upside down, and most corporate
machines are notebooks, with desktops in the minority.
The change has come because PC users everywhere no longer want
to be chained to their desks by technology. They want to stay
connected while moving around office buildings, working from home,
on the road, and even – securely – over a latte in the nearest
coffee shop.
As mobile awareness increases, organisations are already
adopting more innovative systems to make the most of improved
mobile-based alternatives. But server technology has to evolve if
your company is to maximise the advantages of it.
Computing and communications are converging at an
ever-increasing rate. The latest mobile phones are as much internet
devices as they are phones, while mobile digital assistants (MDAs)
handle everything from wireless data to voice communications.
Meanwhile, notebooks offer integrated wireless capabilities,
allowing you to both compute and communicate ‘out of the box’.
Yet a few issues need to be addressed before real, effective
mobility can be achieved. New client mobile devices must be
reliable, secure, and able to support robust and, importantly,
secure applications.
Connectivity must be pervasive; meaning you can connect simply,
irrespective of device or geographic locality, and roam
uninhibitedly; across wireless networks and hotspots in your home,
your business and public spaces.
New class of applications
Furthermore, typical business applications need to be more
effective and as easy to use ‘on the road’ as they are in the
office. Security concerns and ease of use issues have limited the
adoption of mobile services in the past. Today, a mobile lifestyle
requires a new class of applications that uses location and user
profile information to facilitate access across an array of devices
and networks.
Alan Priestley, Director of Marketing with Intel’s Enterprise
Server Group, suggests that with users already managing a number of
mobile devices at the same time, eventually a merger of devices
must take place.
“Now you often have a cell phone with PDA features, or a PDA
that incorporates a phone. The challenge is to balance the mix. If
you are using a device to get hold of messages, which one do you
prefer to use – notebook, mobile phone or PDA – and what do
you want to get: voice, email, or SMS?”
Priestley suggests that what you will actually want is a
seamless, transparent process in which you get the data in the
right form at the right time on the right device. For example, you
wouldn’t want to receive a 50-page file on a mobile phone because
it would be hard to read.
In one good example, the Clalit Health Services Group in Israel
has adopted systems that mean doctors no longer have to be in their
offices to gain access to patient records. Adopting easy-to-carry
tablet PCs means patients’ entire medical histories can be
available anywhere.
Bandwidth issues
Server infrastructures particularly must be able to cope. The
issue is less to do with changes to processors and more about how
IT as to evolve its infrastructure to support the new mobile usage
models. The increased adoption of mobile devices will impact the
way you build your server infrastructure, because legacy systems
are generally unable to cope with the level of capability and
increased data complexity that comes with mobile usage.
Bandwidth issues too are likely to mean differences in the
‘slice’ or ‘cut’ of corporate data that as you will be able to see.
More flexible messaging may mean you can’t take a phone call in a
meeting, but you might receive that same voice call translated into
a text message.
The biggest issue is the need for real ‘mobilised’ applications
that provide you with software that delivers services effectively
to your ‘on the road’ users. Priestley says: “Lots of applications
work in a monolithic mode. We need ISVs to create seamless
applications that don’t depend on having a permanent connection to
a server farm. We need a ‘mobile software infrastructure’, so we
are working with SAP and other enterprise resource planning (ERP)
vendors on applications that have the ability to run both offline
and online.”
The bottom line is that you should be dealing with technology
firms that have the right connections. These companies need to work
with telecoms organisations and service providers to put together
new mobile infrastructures and business models, including updating
the way they bill you for services. Once this is addressed, you are
on the road to getting the best from mobility.