The woes besetting Motorola Inc.’s consumer handset division have been the stuff of headlines for the past year. The company has said it remains committed to creating two independently traded businesses that would send the handset division off on its own, while keeping its enterprise mobility, home and networks mobility businesses intact. Analysts have noted that Motorola’s enterprise mobility business has provided a significant slice of Motorola’s revenue and profits as its bread-and-butter handset division faltered. So we spoke with Sheldon Safir, director of product marketing for mobile computing at Motorola, on the eve of a new enterprise device launch that clarified one pressing issue: Moto’s enterprise unit independently develops and delivers its own robust devices for myriad business uses. And, like many enterprise-oriented vendors, Safir makes a convincing case for enterprise to invest in productivity gains and cost efficiencies with a clear return-on-investment, even under uncertain macro-economic conditions.
Tell us where mobile computing fits into Motorola’s overall organization.
The enterprise mobility business is comprised of several units: ADC (advanced data capture), that produces scanning devices, an RFID group, a wireless infrastructure group and our mobile computing group, the largest within the enterprise mobility business. We’ve just come off a phenomenal year of growth, based on the fact that enterprise mobility is an expanding market as companies worldwide see the need to have workers outside the home office. So we provide devices that enable people to do business at the point of business – whether that involves voice, data, the ability to read bar codes or having a business application accessible wherever you are. We work with a broad range of partners and their portfolios of applications to enable any of these business applications.
Motorola still intends to split off its mobile devices unit, but that won’t affect your division?
Remember, our enterprise mobility business is, for the most part, a legacy of our acquisition of Symbol Technologies. We’ve had an independent ability to develop our own devices and leverage technology that came with Symbol. And these devices are built on a standard platform that enables us to quickly leverage new technologies and address a stable customer base with secure, reliable devices based on industry standards.
What’s Motorola’s value proposition to the enterprise, particularly in unpredictable economic times when investing in productivity and cost efficiencies competes with the urge to simply cut budgets?
Our consistent pitch is that the devices we provide increase our customers’ productivity. Whether they are knowledge workers or in the field, we enable them to be more productive and efficient on a daily basis. Our customers look at our products as a competitive differentiator. In retail, for example, they tell us they need ways to differentiate and improve the customer experience to generate sales and maintain customer loyalty. That’s even more important in uncertain economic times. For instance, one of our devices can be used by retailers to deliver promotions to consumers while they’re in the store, based on their past record of purchases.
What’s the breadth of your device portfolio for the mobile enterprise?
Over the past two years, we’ve totally refreshed the portfolio. On the industrial side we have the rugged MC series – the MC-1000, MC-3000 and MC-9000. On the EDA (enterprise digital assistant) side, we have the MC-35, MC-50, MC-70 and our latest, announced today, the MC-75. The MC-70 has done well for us, partly because it looks like a smartphone, but it’s built to withstand the rigors of the road.
What’s the essential difference between an EDA and a PDA or smartphone?
Traditionally, our EDA devices were targeted at knowledge workers. The original MC-50, for example, was targeted at getting the retail manager out from behind his desk and onto the sales floor. The MC-70 was originally targeted at field sales and service but we see it adopted to use in the industrial arena as well. It fits well in the hand over the course of a long shift on the job and has the needed functionality and ruggedness to withstand a rugged environment. It packs a lot more processing power than a smartphone, for instance.
So, ergonomics trump fashion in the EDA category?
That’s right. Typically the person who uses the device doesn’t select the device. Also, the product lifecycle is important – EDAs have a lifecycle of two to three years and our customers want to be sure that those devices will last and continue to be serviced. With a service agreement, we’ll support the device for its lifecycle, whatever happens to it. It’s a different value proposition than in the consumer handset market. We also have a management platform that allows I.T. departments to provision these devices from a remote location, which makes their lives easier on a daily basis.
Tell us about the new MC-75.
The MC-75 runs [Microsoft Corp.’s] Windows Mobile and provides HSDPA and CDMA2000 1x EV-DO for worldwide carrier options. It delivers voice, data and scanning, with enterprise-grade, secure e-mail from Good Technology. The device includes Wi-Fi, [wireless wide area network], Bluetooth, GPS, a 2-megapixel camera and multimode capture of data – with the camera, laser scanner and a bar-code reader. These can be used to transmit documents, proof of delivery, etc. Location applications are in demand, thus the GPS capability – sales people need directions and the device can confirm that your people are where they say they are when a transaction is completed. We’ve improved the battery to power the device beyond an entire work shift. The device has a VGA screen with four times the resolution of its predecessor, so you can read a schematic on it. I.T. managers can remotely control and provision this device, depending on their policies. We offer the new device at the same list price as its predecessor, $2,635, which doesn’t take into account volume discounts. And soon we’ll be offering a snap-on accessory that offers a mag-stripe reader on one side and a debit-card reader on the other, for in-store, “line-busting” applications so that consumers don’t walk out rather than stand in line.
Would you explain the advantages of 3G connectivity for enterprise-specific devices?
We listened to feedback from our customers and potential customers. As you push further away from the center of the enterprise, you need better, quicker, fatter tubes for communicating via voice and data, simultaneously. The MC-75 also has 802.11/a/b and g built in, so you can take advantage of Wi-Fi within the walls of the enterprise, to save money on network minutes.
Let’s return to the big picture. What’s your view of the enterprise market?
Our goal is worldwide domination. (Laughter.) Our goal is to entice our current base with the MC-75’s improved functionality – porting applications from the MC-70 to the MC-75 is a relatively simple task. And the device’s functionality opens a whole world of opportunity in vertical industries we’ve never addressed, such as real estate, insurance, finance, law, the government sector and first responders.
Final thoughts?
We’re incredibly bullish on the enterprise space. We continue to see more opportunities open up. We’ve got great momentum, which we expect to see continue through this year as we offer devices that address enterprise concerns in an uncertain economy.
