An IT director looking to mobilise the workforce can
choose from hundreds of devices. Here we provide an overview of the
options and how they fit with business needs.
The choice of mobile device for the enterprise is growing at a
rapid rate. By 2008 it is estimated that there will be more than
500 mobile phone and PDA models.
For chief information officers looking to mobilise the
workforce, the choice is difficult. Which device best suits the
needs of the enterprise or a particular business function? Which
applications can it run? How much will it cost to operate?
There are no easy answers to these questions, and device choice
is led by many factors, including the function and usage pattern of
the device, the applications that need to be mobilised and the
existing corporate back-end systems it will need to access.
If your overall goal is simply to provide voice communications
for keeping in touch with a mobile workforce, then it is down to
personal choice and the cheapest option (in terms of both device
and tariff) - in which case there are literally hundreds of mobile
phones to choose from. The key decision for an IT director is
whether there is a need to mandate a brand and model of mobile
phone across the enterprise.
According to analyst firm Gartner Dataquest, Nokia leads the
market, with 30.4% of the share, followed by Motorola 16.8%,
Samsung 13.3%, LG 6.2%, Siemens 5.5% and Sony Ericsson 5.5%.
What is clear is that with an increasing dependence on e-mail,
the corporate intranet, the internet and other sources of corporate
data, converged devices - those that can handle both voice and data
communications - are becoming a must-have for the enterprise.
There are two types: PDAs and smartphones. PDAs are essentially
handheld computers with voice capability. Generally, they have more
sophisticated features and can run a wider range of third-party
enterprise applications than smartphones.
For example, enterprise applications for Hewlett-Packard's iPaq
PDA include Outlook, Word and Excel, as well as a broad range of
software packages covering collaboration, customer relationship
management, field force automation, time and expense management,
work order status, customer accounts and presentation tools.
Although smartphones are increasingly powerful, the number of
applications available for them tends to be limited by the packages
that the network operators put together.
PDAs tend to be more expensive than smartphones, both to buy and
operate, and as such, are still the preserve of executives.
"PDA-type devices tend to be used by executives, and their cost
means they are more likely to be personal investments rather than
bought by the business," said Dave McQueen, principal analyst at
research firm Informa.
However, the lines between the two are blurring, as shown by
high-end smartphones such as O2's XDA, T-Mobile's MDA series, the
Nokia Communicator 9300 and 9500 series, and Sony Ericsson's
P990i.
By far the most popular choice of device for the mobile
workforce is the smartphone. Smartphones are increasingly powerful
converged devices, which are primarily phones, but with an advanced
operating system that can run corporate applications.
They offer relatively large, colour screens, are lighter than
PDAs and tend to look more like a traditional mobile phone.
Analyst group Informa estimates smartphone sales for 2005 were
42.5 million, with that figure set to double in 2006, and
eventually reach 200 million by 2008. In contrast, PDA sales have
been declining for years, and now account for less than 20% of the
mobile device market.
Industry analysts divide smartphones into two categories.
Low-end smartphones are defined as mobile phones that embed a
number of additional features outside the usual ones found on PDAs,
such as MP3, camera, MMS, games, Java or Pop e-mail. Examples might
include Orange's SPV C500 or the 3G Motorola A1000.
Although these devices might be used in the business and
corporate markets, they specifically target high-end and mid-range
segments of the consumer market. They are mainly the domain of the
handset manufacturers such as Nokia, Motorola, Siemens, Sony
Ericsson and Samsung.
High-end smartphones are defined as primarily PDA-type devices
with phone capabilities. Examples include O2's XDA II, Palm's Treo
650, HP's iPaq series, Sony Ericsson's P910i and Research in
Motion's Blackberry 7100v.
Another area to consider is the operating system, for which
there are five main contenders: Research in Motion's Blackberry,
Microsoft's Windows Mobile, Symbian, PalmOne and, increasingly,
Linux.
The Blackberry dominates the enterprise market. With more than
four million subscribers, the Blackberry provides access to
corporate e-mails on a mobile device.
Importantly, the e-mail service is push-based, which means
e-mails are automatically pushed to the mobile device without the
need for user intervention. The system also synchronises the
corporate e-mail inbox between desktop and mobile.
Until recently, the Blackberry service was only available on
proprietary devices, such as the 7100v (on Vodafone), and the 7100x
or 7290 (Orange). But in the face of user demand for a wider choice
of devices - and direct competition from Microsoft, Nokia and Palm
(in the US), which have launched their own non-proprietary
corporate e-mail systems - the service is now available on a broad
range of devices.
These include the Siemens SK65, Nokia 6820 and 6822 smartphones,
Nokia 9300 Communicator and O2's XDA II.
"That is what is behind the success of the Blackberry: it does
exactly what it says on the tin. It provides mobile access to
corporate e-mails, it is easy to use, people understand it, and
there are no bells and whistles," said McQueen, adding that the
service accounts for the vast majority of large enterprise-wide
deployments in the UK.
However, Microsoft recently launched Windows Mobile 5.0, the new
version of its mobile operating system, which will compete directly
with Blackberry, opening up the device market for push e-mail
access even further.
Microsoft is offering a free upgrade to Exchange Server 2003,
meaning it does not require an additional server, such as the
Blackberry Enterprise Server, and the associated licence fees.
Agreements with Nokia, Symbian, Palm and Motorola, among others,
mean that a range of smartphones and PDAs running the new version
of the operating system will be available within the next 12
months.
Windows Mobile is already available on Palm's Treo 650, while
Orange was the first to launch the operating system in Europe on
its SPV C600 smartphone and SPV M3000 wireless PDA.
"It is possible to imagine a scenario in which Blackberry
remains the preserve of the executive, while this new Microsoft
capability is used to mobilise the corporate masses," said Ovum
analyst Tony Cripps.
Microsoft is the second most popular mobile operating system
provider, with a market share of about 23% in 2005, according to
Informa. It is a long way behind Symbian, with an estimated 59%
share of the smartphone market.
Symbian is increasingly being used on high-end devices for
executives, such as Sony Ericsson's P800 and P900 series
smartphones, or the Nokia 9300 Communicator, as well as lower-end
devices such as the Motorola A1000 and Nokia 6680 - both 3G.
Symbian is perceived as the operating system of choice for
devices optimised for specific tasks. Although it is by no means
entrenched in the enterprise market, it is becoming the favoured
operating system for specific business functions, such as devices
used by cycle couriers.
The Palm operating system has tended to be run in high-end
devices, with smartphones such as the popular Palm Treo series, but
there are now low-end Palm smartphones available, such as the
Samsung SGH-i300.
The final option is Linux, which is predicted to pick up market
share over the next five years, according to IDC, rising from less
than 5% in 2004 to 8% in 2005, and reaching 19% by 2010. Linux is
fully open and relatively cheap to implement, and Motorola has just
announced the launch of the A910 in the US, a Linux-Java smartphone
with Wi-Fi and voice recognition software.
But the operating system is becoming an increasingly poor
differentiator in terms of device choice, as cross-licensing
agreements and partnerships mean applications can increasingly be
accessed on a choice of mobile devices, regardless of the operating
system they run. For example, Blackberry is available on both
Symbian and Microsoft Mobile-based smartphones.
The launch of smartphones with Wi-Fi capability over the next 12
months, however, could become an important factor in device
choice.
"The big device trends this year are more 3G and Wi-Fi devices
coming to market, such as the Nokia E-series and N80, Sony Ericsson
P990, HTC Universal - variously known as Orange SPV M5000, O2 XDA
Exec, T-Mobile MDA Pro, Vodafone VPA IV and i-mate Jasjar - and
there will no doubt be many others announced throughout the year,"
said Cripps.
A Wi-Fi mobile phone would offer free voice and data
communications over the office wireless Lan, but would switch to
cellular mode outside, cutting voice and data costs
significantly.
"In the office, these devices use Wi-Fi, or the wireless Lan,
which costs nothing. They then revert to the cellular network
outside the building. Combined with data access, it means the
mobile becomes a very capable communication device," said
Cripps.
Picking a device at first appears to be daunting, but it is a
decision that a CIO should not really need to make.
"It would not be sensible to buy a device because you like it
and then find out that it does not do what you want it to," said
Cripps.
"First, you should think about the applications you want to
mobilise. If you then work through the devices and software
companies that develop the application, you will probably find that
you are automatically guided to the platform or device feasible for
your environment."