Mobile industry needs to do more for enterprise

SAN FRANCISCO — There are success stories in how wireless technology is helping the enterprise sector save money and improve employee productivity, but some in the industry say more can be done.
When it comes to wireless services, the need of every business is different. Waste disposal companies and public safety entities may need solutions to keep track of drivers and employees with GPS and communicate more effectively with dispatchers. Corporations arm workers with smartphones to access e-mail and time-sensitive documents. Solutions can even be used to keep track of cattle.
Industry officials who work within the enterprise sector talked about issues and the future market of enterprise-based solutions during CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008. Sessions were held on a number of topics including location-based services in enterprise and field service management.
A common theme that emerged is there are thousands of applications out there, but not all software is compatible with all devices.
“There are an incredible variety of applications available,” said Mary Foltz, Air Arts VP of marketing. “There are so many operating systems. How do you pick?”
Companies that develop software solutions aimed at the business sector say they try to keep applications simple for the customers.
Some say this limits what a company can do. Progress won’t be made until there is consolidation and operation system converge, said Scott Hotes, CTO and VP of engineering of WaveMarket Inc., a leader in mobile location-based services.
Hotes said the problem is that new handsets roll out every nine months and offer different solutions, such as BREW, Java and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows-based applications.
“It’s a complex problem,” he said. “We need to bring some order to the chaos.”
Wade McGill, president of Alltel Communications L.LC.’s business solutions division, said it is tough for the carriers to launch different business solutions because it may only be offered on a pair of devices. If a company wants to take advantage of the new solution, new handset devices could cost $350 to $450 each.
“It gets to be a vexing problem,” McGill said. “It’s one of the biggest frustrations. Customers want compatibility. They also just want the service to work.”
Carriers must also do a better job of educating their field representatives when selling business solutions to customers, said Alan Gould, president of Westlake Software Inc.
“The reps need to be better educated in what they are trying to sell beyond pulling out a network coverage map,” he said.
Despite the challenges, the business sector remains fruitful for the industry, said Todd Krautkremer, CEO of Gearworks, which specializes in location-based mobile business applications.
Krautkremer said there are about 50 million field-based workers in the United States who are disconnected and there are millions of companies seeking greater productivity by employees through wireless solutions.
In the future, the industry is going to have to provide devices that can work on different networks and can handle numerous applications, said Andy Willett, Netmotion Wireless’ VP of marketing and business development.
“But the key is to make it simple,” he said.