Almost all the mobile applications will run on Java app servers.
iwsun4.infoworld.com
Wireless holds the key to the future
By Ana Orubeondo
June 22, 2001
IT LEADERS ARE aggressively embracing wireless technological advances, almost as quickly as users have, and are reaping the benefits of improved customer service and reduced operating expenses. In fact, if the investment in wireless is thoroughly planned, it can be recovered in as few as six months.
But wireless technologies are far from perfect, and implementing them presents many challenges, not least of which are the inevitable interoperability problems and a dizzying array of choices -- devices, networks, standards, and hosting service providers. Some early adopters have run into lengthy and expensive implementation cycles and have failed to achieve their mission: creating a system of components that seamlessly work together to provide users with corporate applications and content via wireless networks.
When wireless works, companies gain the advantage of anytime, anywhere access to information. Users can make decisions more quickly, and they can instantly input customer information and update corporate databases. They can be more productive and stay more closely connected to their co-workers.
Wireless technologies offer substantial benefits, but the danger, of course, is that objectives may be incorrectly identified, users' expectations can go unmanaged, or the implementation may be poorly administered. Before leaping into a wireless project, IT leaders must identify ways to avoid these pitfalls.
If InfoWorld readers are any indication, many already are navigating these choppy waters successfully. In April, InfoWorld surveyed 500 readers who are involved in acquiring wireless products and services and who work with 100 or more other employees. (The 2001 InfoWorld Wireless Survey has a sample tolerance variance of plus or minus 4.5 percent.) We polled our readers on their experiences and expectations for implementing wireless devices, networks, applications, and more.
We found that more than 57 percent of respondents already use wireless technology to give their mobile work force e-mail and Internet access, and 46 percent deploy specific applications to workers in the field. Another 12 percent plan to evaluate wireless technology during the next year.
The survey also revealed how commonplace wireless devices have become: 95 percent of respondents use cell phones from major vendors such as Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, Nextel, and Sprint PCS. Sixty-nine percent use pagers. The ubiquitous Palm and Palm-like handhelds have also become accepted enterprise tools: 55 percent of survey respondents use some sort of PDA, and the majority uses their PDAs for messaging.
Despite its broad appeal, wireless faces some barriers to widespread implementation, and according to 31 percent of survey respondents, cost is the greatest. Security concerns 16 percent, and the inability to integrate wireless data with existing IT infrastructure hampers 15 percent, topping our readers' list of concerns.
Taking the plunge
If your only experience with wireless technologies is a Palm or a smart phone, implementing wireless may not seem all that complicated. But developing a wireless solution that will succeed in the field requires more than simply putting a desktop application on that Palm.
Unlike a traditional LAN, a wireless solution must contend with the harshest of environments, from varying coverage conditions and extreme weather to narrower bandwidth and higher latencies; designing a good solution is a challenge. Wireless solutions also need to address the specific needs of their users, such as a package-tracking system for a delivery company.
Making a purchasing decision for a wireless applications and services does not need to be difficult but must be considered carefully. Start by determining which technologies you'll use first and how you'll implement them. For 83 percent of the InfoWorld Wireless Survey respondents, technical evaluations play a key role in the acquisition process.
Unlike desktop computers, which are fairly homogenous, choosing mobile devices involves looking at durability, size, battery operation, operating system, application requirements, support, price, and so on. Mobile devices' prices vary greatly, from a $200 phone or pager to a $7,000 laptop computer. Carefully evaluate the true needs of your users, but don't be quick to take the low road; picking a device that doesn't fully accommodate users will cost you more in the long run.
Choosing a mobile device is just the first step. With almost as many network providers as mobile devices, you need to carefully evaluate coverage, speed, network capacity, reliability, latency, technical and developer support, and cost.
Consider also whether you want to outsource some or all of your wireless solution. Plenty of SSPs (software solutions providers), ASPs (application service providers) and WASPs (wireless ASPs) have experience with wireless networking issues and can build and host applications that may be too resource-intensive to undertake in-house. In fact, 70 percent of survey participants who are implementing a mobile commerce solution plan to enlist the aid of a third-party provider.
Effective communications
Emerging mobile applications focus on the wireless extension of enterprise information. Companies can easily adapt those mobile applications to their information infrastructure to extend back-office applications to their wireless system. These mobile applications use standard Web browsers to deliver all the information road warriors need.
The readers we polled agreed that users need this functionality: 44 percent require that the wireless solution synchronize mobile data with central IT data.
Mobile users communicate using a variety of devices, so corporate data must be formatted and filtered appropriately for each wireless device, whatever it may be. Some organizations buy packaged applications from a third-party software vendors instead of building them themselves. Mobile middleware can also handle much of the necessary data retrieval, filtering, formatting, and synchronization. According to our survey, 42 percent of survey respondents use or plan to use middleware applications from major vendors such as IBM.
Companies are definitely taking the wireless plunge. They're using many different devices, networks, technologies, and applications to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their mobile work forces. Advances in technology, devices, and data compression are making wireless data communication more convenient, reliable, and faster, all adding up to improvements in productivity that directly impact the bottom line.
borland.com
agenda.se
"We needed a solution that would enable us to provide our customers with as close to 100 percent application uptime as technically possible," said Magnus Lundin, technical manager at Wireless Maingate. "Using the Borland Application Server and AppCenter allows us to deploy new wireless M2M applications that our customers can rely on."
Wireless Maingate and Agenda AB, an Borland Enterprise Business Partner, have developed technology that is already being utilized in the Swedish electricity market to collect information automatically from customers' meters. With the recent deregulation in the Swedish power market, Wireless Maingate enables Scandinavian utility companies to reduce costs, provide more accurate bills, and improve customer service, thus allowing them to remain competitive. Customer information is collected centrally and made available to individual power companies over the Web.
"We chose Borland technology after an in-depth evaluation of BEA's WebLogic and the Oracle Application Server. Borland technology provides us with a robust solution for all our application development and deployment requirements," added Lundin. "The Borland Application Server, JBuilder and AppCenter offer an end-to-end solution that has enabled us to build an innovative application with unsurpassed application management and security." |
