As mobile working becomes the norm, we review the
technology options
Analyst firm Gartner has predicted that by 2007 about 70% of
office workers will own at least three mobile devices. And the
increasing sophistication and popularity of mobile technology is
driving organisations to change the way they support mobile and
remote workers.
Key to having an effective company-wide wireless IT system is the
software infrastructure, which facilitates and supports the mobile
applications used by staff. The choice of software platforms is so
great that users can select the product that will fit their
particular business challenge.
For firms that want to give their mobile workers e-mail or voice
and data services, a straightforward option is to approach a
telecoms provider such as Orange, Vodafone, O2 or T-Mobile.
If an organisation decides to run the mobile network itself, it
will need asset management and tracking software and tools to carry
out tasks such as automatically updating software across remote and
mobile devices.
For those that require wireless access to enterprise resource
planning systems, a good strategy is to base the system on
infrastructure from the likes of IBM, Sun or Microsoft, which offer
software to link personal digital assistants, laptops and mobile
phones into core enterprise databases and applications.
Gartner research director Ronni Colville said, "IT organisations
should determine how to handle the impact of handheld integration
in their existing user infrastructure, whether that requires
focused solutions specific to handhelds, or broader suites
addressing multiple user platforms, such as desktops, laptops and
handhelds."
A simple mobile data strategy that has aroused interest among many
organisations, particularly multinational companies, is centred on
the Blackberry device and Blackberry Enterprise Server platform
from Research in Motion (RIM).
There are now more than two million active users of
Blackberry-enabled e-mail, personal information management and
data/voice services, according to RIM. This is a small fraction of
the worldwide total of 1.5 billion mobile users, but enterprise
adoption is growing fast, and all the main UK telecoms providers
now offer Blackberry services.
RIM has produced several versions of its Blackberry Enterprise
Server software which can link into the main enterprise e-mail
systems - Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell Groupwise
- as well as offering a web client and access to corporate data and
applications.
Suppliers such as RIM, PalmSource (which makes the Palm OS) and
Microsoft (with its Windows CE and Pocket PC platforms) offer a
host of manage- ment products for data synchronisation and software
distribution to support handheld devices.
Last week Microsoft launched Windows CE 5.0, the latest version of
its mobile operating system. This offers users a software platform
for building applications based on its .net programming environment
and Visual Studio tool.
PalmSource has produced a development platform that supports
standards such as Java 2 Micro Edition (J2ME) and Microsoft's .net
and Soap, and has the support of enterprise software suppliers such
as IBM, Seibel, BEA and SAP.
Colville said, "Operating system and device suppliers will continue
to add and expand synchronisation and content management features
as embedded features to target the enterprise market. In the near
term, these features follow a pattern of being less complete and
more proprietary than the independent software supplier
offerings."
Another strategy for providing data services to a mobile workforce
is to use a third- party telecoms provider to support a range of
mobile voice and data devices. Most UK providers offer a full range
of mobile business voice and data services.
For example, Orange has a service based on its Mobile Office Card,
a PC card that can be used with a laptop, which connects to an
office network using GPRS, a wireless Lan, Wi-Fi or GSM, and offers
the user access to e-mail, the web or desktop applications.
Vodafone has a similar wireless card called Vodafone Mobile
Connect, as well as E-Mail Anywhere, a service which automatically
forwards e-mails to a mobile phone, and is charged as part of a
monthly tariff.
When it comes to more advanced mobile data systems, most
organisations opt to host and manage these themselves to retain
control, guarantee the security of data and reduce their costs. Rob
Bamforth, practice leader for wireless and mobile networks at Bloor
Research, said many companies are still wary of implementing mobile
or wireless systems because of security and management concerns.
"However, as with most aspects of the use of technology, these
challenges can be overcome by the use of appropriate policies and
procedures," he said. "This can be accomplished in a cost-effective
manner if the right tools, products and services directly support
the implementation of those policies and procedures."
There are many products available to manage remote laptops, PDAs
and other mobile devices, with the major suppliers and many
specialists selling software to carry out device management in a
secure way. This includes inventory and asset management, data
synchronisation, software and patch distribution, back-up and
restore, and content management.
Providers of such software include IBM and Computer Associates,
which both offer products or modules for software distribution,
data synchronisation and device monitoring and management.
IBM has a host of tools to manage remote workers in its Tivoli and
Websphere products. For example, the Websphere Everyplace range can
give mobile devices access to critical information and
applications; and Websphere Everyplace Mobile Portal is a
development tool to create personalised mobile content.
Computer Associates offers a significant software application in
this area as part of its Unicenter systems management suite. CA
Wireless Site Manager offers an IT manager central control of a
wireless network, which can have a large number of "authorised"
wireless laptops, PDAs and other devices connected to it. These
carry a pre-installed software agent, and can adhere to predefined
security schemes. If an unauthorised device tries to connect to the
wireless network, the software blocks it.
Microsoft Systems Management Server is another application that can
be used to manage a mobile workforce. It does this through the
deployment of applications, security patches and software updates,
as well as carrying out asset management. The server software can
be used, for example, to ensure that each remote worker using a
Microsoft-based device has the latest security patches on their
machine.
Gartner advises organisations to also look at Novadigm, Mobile
Automation, Novell and Xcellenet as suppliers that offer mobile
systems management products that can manage laptops as well as
PDAs.
Hewlett-Packard-owned Novadigm sells a system that integrates into
HP's Openview systems management software and is designed to manage
mobile devices, deploying software and synchronising updates to
mobile users across applications and networks.
"There is a growing need to adopt a single, centralised solution
that can effectively support both Lan-attached as well as mobile
devices," said Colville.
There is a large variety of software that can run on mobile devices
themselves. Virtual private network software providers such as
Check Point, Whale and Aventail allow users to access most of their
familiar desktop applications remotely, and provide robust security
to do so. Added to this, software developers such as Xora and
IMImobile have written mobile connectors that hook into enterprise
software products, so that wireless devices can connect to back-end
data used by popular enterprise applications.
For example, Xora provides out-of-the-box connectivity to SAP,
Clarify, Siebel Field Service, PeopleSoft CRM and Oracle Field
Service.
Another example is Peramon Technology, which has developed the
Mobilizer Saleslogix Connector to connect mobile phones and PDAs to
the popular sales application, as well as connectors for Microsoft
Exchange and Lotus Domino e-mail applications.
For software developers, Sun Microsystems offers J2ME, a platform
for writing applications that run on mobile phones, PDAs and
embedded devices. J2ME includes Java virtual machines and a set of
standard Java APIs.
"The J2ME platform is deployed on millions of devices, supported by
leading tool suppliers and used by companies worldwide," said a Sun
spokesman.
In terms of applications that are optimised for smartphones and
mobile devices, the list is extensive. As well as producing mobile
versions of its Office applications, Microsoft offers Outlook Web
Access, a tool that can be used with Microsoft Exchange Server to
securely access a mailbox from any computer with an internet
connection.
Oracle has created a mobile version of its database, called
Database Lite 10g, for laptops and PDAs. The database can run on
any wireless network and is managed from a central database
console.
In addition to these, data and content synchronisation software
services from the likes of AvantGo offer specially formatted
popular websites for PDAs and smartphones, with content such as
news, weather, sports, stock quotes and maps, which can be
synchronised from the desktop or wireless hotspot.
Mobile technology has given workers the freedom to ply their trade
outside the confines of the office. All that now remains is for
organisations to implement the software infrastructure to allow
them to do so securely.
The consultant's choice
Consultancy Capgemini Ernst & Young uses HP-owned Novadigm's
Radia suite to automate the management of desktop and laptop-based
applications and other digital assets.
In the UK, Capgemini's consultants are mobile most of the time,
and spend many hours working on laptops in airports, at client
sites or at home.
Radia Application Manager can automatically update applications
such as Microsoft Office, Winzip and anti-virus software, as well
as update, repair and replace project applications such as
Microsoft Project and Visio.
Wireless fieldwork
US beauty products retailer Sephora uses IBM Lotus Domino
Sametime and Everyplace, together with eWork Order from Big Sky
Technologies, to manage repairs and upgrades in its 75 stores.
Store managers communicate wirelessly with hundreds of mobile,
on-call maintenance contractors, using the workflow and
collaboration tools.