Odds are that at least some of your business processes can be significantly improved by cutting the cord. Here are some tips for wielding the knife:
- Don't worry. Lazy employees have a way of getting caught out whether they're in the office or out in the field. If you're still hung up on concerns that mobility will compromise your workers' effectiveness, get with the program: mobility actually makes them more effective by keeping the data they need accessible at all times.
- Limit functionality. Handhelds don't have to be one-size-fits-all propositions; many of the most useful applications do just one thing, and do it well.
- Keep it simple. The small size of PDAs and smart phones makes an easy-to-use, efficient user interface essential. Test extensively, trial interfaces on users, and look for ways to simplify functions, automate data filling, and otherwise make remote users' jobs as easy as possible.
- Think thin. If you're worried by the thought of having critical corporate data on a small terminal that could easily be left at the local Starbucks, consider using thin-client software like Citrix MetaFrame, in which the mobile device is just a window onto applications and data running, safe and sound, on your server.
- Think secure. If you can't guarantee constant connectivity to the network, you're going to have to keep some data on the device to ensure a consistent user experience. Use encryption to make sure the data is unusable to anyone else should the device go missing, and consider getting devices with fingerprint scanners to add another layer of protection.
- Manage stringently. Incremental, bandwidth-aware backup tools have helped PC administrators get control of remote notebooks to some degree, but PDAs and smartphones are a completely different kettle of fish. Make sure your remote management tools accommodate various mobile platforms, and can extend features such as licence monitoring and standard operating environment (SOE) installation to handheld as well as notebook devices.
- Design for mobility. Good design of data structures makes management much easier. Increasing commonality between desktop and mobile devices means the transition from desktop to mobile applications is nowhere near as complex as it used to be. Tiny mobile databases such as Microsoft SQL Server CE work closely with their server counterparts to synchronise data, making it much easier for your applications to support remote devices with minimal fuss. Build your interfaces for mobiles' smaller screens, and -- voilà -- you're mobile.
- Capture remotely, store locally. Notebooks pack a lot of grunt, but mobile devices sacrifice performance and storage for battery life and their tiny form factor. Don't even try to store critical data on a mobile device long-term; ensure that your application strategy treats them as devices for data entry and application access, and nothing more.
- Get wireless. Mobile devices have been around for years, but it's only with common support for GPRS, CDMA, and emerging 3G networks that they're coming into their own. If you ever rejected a non-wireless mobile solution in the past, take another look at today's technology. Constant wireless connectivity can keep mobile devices well managed simply because, unlike often disconnected notebooks, they are always connected and always available for data backup, upgrades and other tasks.
- Be safe. Hackers have already created viruses that run on mobile phones and PDAs, but don't stress about them for now: suitable devices for propagating viruses are still few and far between, and there are no viruses (so far) capable of infecting both mobile devices and normal desktop PCs. Focus on extending current security regimes to protect and quarantine mobile devices as necessary, and you can venture into the mobile world without having to be paranoid.
This article was first published in Technology & Business magazine.
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I just watched a webcast on managing Windows Mobile at http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/msecmobility.aspx. I would guess that mobile phone use will grow quickly in the next decade.