When most people think of remote access to data, accessing corporate LANs,
servers and e-mail comes to mind. Sales-force automation is not entirely new. In
1997, GoAmerica Communications, a nationwide wireless Internet and intranet
service provider, added AT&T Wireless CDPD service to its suite of mobile
applications so customers could wirelessly access corporate intranets, the
Internet and their e-mail. However, several announcements by Sprint PCS last
month have brought remote access to the forefront once again. In December,
IBM and Sprint PCS agreed to jointly develop and test wireless business
applications and services for the mobile workforce. According to John
Yuzdepski, Sprint PCS vice president of product management and development,
the new services, planned for early this year, will enable business people to use
the Sprint PCS Wireless Web to send and receive corporate e-mail and access
schedules, contacts and personalized corporate business applications in real
time on Sprint PCS Internet-ready phones.
“As we roll out more and more corporate connectivity solutions, you will see
richer content,” he said. “But right now, you can access the critical things you
see on your desktop: e-mail, contact management, contact lists, your calendar
and your corporate database.”
Yuzdepski said the ideal remote-access solution goes beyond what is offered
today. When a business customer walks away from his desktop computer, the
system should begin forwarding e-mail to his handset after 10 or 15 minutes of
inactivity. The system, however, should be smart enough that it would not send
all e-mail, but only those that the user dictates as relevant — messages from
co-workers and family and those marked as urgent.
“Handsets are advancing, and users will have the ability to easily craft messages
(from handsets), so they should be able to respond and accept a meeting
invitation or check their calendar,” he said.
Most importantly, the system should assure synchronization. For example, if a
user replies to an e-mail, the recipient should not know from where he sent it.
“It already works in voice paradigm,” Yuzdepski said. “My desk phone can
divert to my Sprint PCS phone, and they have no idea. That paradigm is what we
are extending to the e-mail or data universe.”
Security Fears
Historically, Yuzdepski said, wireless carriers have talked to telecom specialists
on their sales calls to businesses. Now, they talk to information technology (IT)
employees, thanks to the convergence between wireless, which is dominated by
voice, and IT, which is dominated by data.
“IT people think differently; they have special issues of connectivity and
security,” he said. “It really freaks out IT managers and CIOs when you say you
want to blast e-mails across the airwaves to your handset. Their first question is
‘What about security, reliability and opening up to hackers?' So we, as a turnkey
solutions provider, or a partner of a team, have to be able to answer those
questions.”
Sprint PCS addressed the security issue with the help of one partner,
WirelessKnowledge. WirelessKnowledge acts similar to a service bureau in that
e-mails forwarded to handsets are sent through a secure connection to
WirelessKnowledge, which then sends them to Sprint PCS handsets. When the
user replies, the reverse takes place.
Similarly, Ericsson works with carriers to manage corporate mail servers so that
businesses, by subscribing to data service, don't have to manage their mail
servers anymore or worry about security, said Russ Sharer, Ericsson Datacom
Group director of product marketing.
“We could also be involved on the whole end of providing the infrastructure
that a carrier would need so they could out-source the whole thing if they want
to become an application service provider,” he said.
Partnering
In order to offer remote access to corporate customers, Yuzdepski noted that
carriers need three partners: a handset manufacturer, a systems integrator and a
company with experience on the server/database side. The key thing Sprint PCS
sought in its partnerships was the ability to deliver services en masse.
“Getting one site going, any carrier can do that, but this is all about economies
of scope and scale,” he said. “These are non-trivial problems: getting behind the
firewall, keeping this thing up, monitoring these networks. It takes clever
wireless, IT and network folks all working together with a common vision to
understand what we are trying to achieve.”
Sharer suggested that carriers look for partners that have a service component of
their business and can offer a variety of products. For example, Ericsson offers
servers, handsets and infrastructure, so it can help troubleshoot when phones
are not receiving mail properly.
Future Applications
In the future, remote access will go well beyond accessing corporate LANs.
Consumer applications already abound, Sharer said. For example, in Europe,
workers are submitting their time cards via mobile phones using WAP.
“Wherever you are and whatever device you use, you will have the ability to get
consistent information,” he said. “Today I use my phone, and if I need a number,
I dial 411. If on the Web, I go to a Web site to look up an e-mail. If on a mobile
phone, I check my directory inside. Those kinds of services are going to have to
become more transparent so you can be mobile.”
For instance, before Christmas, Sharer's whole family wanted to see Toy Story 2.
It was oversold, so after calling and receiving only a busy signal, the family
drove to the theater and stood in line to buy tickets for the next day.
“If I had (the ability) on my mobile data device, I could punch in that I want to
buy five tickets to the movie, submit that as a bid, and it would tell me if I got it
or not,” he said.
Or, imagine a family out on a mountain that decides to hike to the peak, but
doesn't have a map. The data device would allow it to get a map from the
Internet. The same family also could keep track of one another on the mountain.
Naturally, the list of entertainment uses goes on and on. Sharer said Nintendo is
building 3G wireless capability into its next generation of Game Boy equipment.
“Imagine a kid who is part of a Nintendo Game Boy network. For $5.95, he can
play with anyone else who is part of the network, so he is not just king of his
Nintendo Game Boy but king of the world,” Sharer said. “He could play with
friends all over the world.”
And of course, don't forget about e-commerce. Sharer envisions the day where
he can give his daughter a card that says she can spend a certain amount of
money without approval. If she is in a store and needs to go over that amount, a
request to authorize the transaction would come across his mobile device.
“So instead of the store having to call me, and I call the bank, I can say ‘Go
ahead authorize it' in one fell swoop,” he said.
E-commerce applications already are popping up. As of last month, Sprint PCS'
agreement with Amazon.com allows Wireless Web users to order books and
other merchandise through Amazon.com over Internet-ready phones.
“Wireless e-commerce will follow what is happening in the wired Web,”
Yuzdepski said. “The whole movement to supply-chain management of
business-to-business e-commerce. We see all kinds of things: shopping,
e-commerce, transaction-based systems, order entry, inventory query.”
People traditionally have been nervous about both wireless fraud and
e-commerce. When you combine the two, will people be doubly afraid of fraud?
Yuzdepski thinks not. Some things just take time, he said. People initially were
concerned about putting credit-card details on the Internet, but they soon
learned there is no reason to be afraid.
“People are, by nature, conservative,” he said. “We are very concerned about
not over-promising. That is why we now have basic corporate applications.”
Mal Raddalgoda, Espial senior director of strategic marketing, said the auto
industry views wireless computing in cars as a major differentiator. One
automobile manufacturer is even using it as a way to reach a younger
demographic. Raddalgoda envisions remote access to include info-tainment in
automobiles: information for the driver and entertainment for passengers.
Personal traffic information will be a huge hit for drivers.
“If you are driving along the highway and you discover that in the middle of
Illinois you have only ¼ of a tank of gas, you keep driving and hope you see a
station,” he said. “With GPS and wireless connectivity and navigation, you can
see where you are, the gas stations on your route, the ones you can make it to
on the amount of gas you have left, and where you can find the best prices.”
Personal traffic information also would show the driver how to navigate home
from work without hitting any accidents or traffic delays.
Comments? Write to rhonda_wickham@intertec.com. |
