Data Means Business

Finding the right wireless data solution requires companies to analyze an app's cost, coverage, reliability and more.

When Amber Niven, Arch Wireless vice president of information technology (www.archwireless.com), started to look for a SFA solution, her main goal was to enhance the efficiency of Arch's 1,600 sales reps selling 2-way pagers and paging service.

By mobilizing and automating the processes for new orders, repairs and service, Arch sales reps can showcase their core paging products as well as the new wireless data solution from Mobilize (www.mobilize.com) that has taken the place of multiple paper forms and an error-prone order-entry process.

Efficiency was the driving force behind Arch's decision to implement the SFA solution, called Mobilize Commerce. As the pilot project nears completion and Arch prepares to deploy the solution to all 320 of its Northeastern sales reps this summer, improvements remain on the drawing board, which Mobilize will implement on a phased schedule. Although security is not a large concern because the app works off of a secure e-mail system at Arch, coverage and in-building issues still prevent the system from being 100% wireless.

This real-world experience is reflected in the results of the Yankee Group's (www.yankeegroup.com) March survey, “Wireless Connectivity to the Enterprise.” The survey identified the top factors driving adoption of wireless data apps in the enterprise as improved employee performance, increased competitive advantage and reduction of costs. The top five barriers to enterprise adoption of wireless data, according to the survey of 107 corporations, are coverage, standards, reliability, cost and technology maturity. Security, which topped the survey last year, slipped to sixth this year.

“While there is a greater awareness of the value of wireless data, enterprises are still waiting for performance improvements and greater technology standardization,” the survey states.

Even amidst a general downturn in the telecom and technology sectors, many corporations are moving their wireless data initiatives from pilot projects to full deployment, according to Keith McIntyre, vice president and chief technologist at systems integrator Stellcom (www.stellcom.com).

The difference today, however, is that companies have a razor-sharp focus on ROI when it comes to wireless data projects.

At Arch Wireless, the cost savings from wireless data is easily identifiable. Before automation, when sales reps called in to place orders, the cost was $7 per transaction. With the implementation of Mobilize Commerce, that cost fell to $1 per transaction. Mobilize charges between $50,000 and $100,000 up-front to implement the solution. The monthly fee is $15 to $50 per user.

Bob Pinna, Mobilize CEO, estimates that upon full implementation, Arch will realize an annual cost savings of more than $1.2 million ($800,000 in order-entry savings and $430,000 in inventory reconciliation cost savings).

“A few years back in the dot-com time, people were throwing around money left and right, and they were going for projects without regard to ROI,” McIntyre says. “Now they want good, secure project management in place so that their projects are deployed in a more traditional fashion.”

The Yankee Group's enterprise survey reflects a growing wireless data market for companies such as Stellcom and Mobilize, and perhaps a contracting market for carriers.

In last year's enterprise survey, 54% of respondents said their companies would be most likely to turn to a carrier for wireless data solutions; 11% said systems integrator; and 7% said vendor. On this year's survey, only 36% said they would go to a carrier for wireless data, while 23% would go to a systems integrator, and 21% would go to a vendor.

The survey concluded that in the end, enterprises likely will get their wireless data solutions from partnerships between carriers, systems integrators and vendors.

“The carrier will play a role,” says Eugene Signorini, Yankee Group wireless analyst. “They will partner to benefit from selling the traffic and perhaps some applications they develop themselves. They will need the systems integrators to help them get into the enterprise and actually source to the enterprise.”

High-Flying Data

Making sure British Airways flights leave JFK Airport on time requires many things, including the efforts of a dedicated, mobile IT staff. Reliable communication between members of this group is essential and must always be available — often across time zones and oceans.

In the past, these technicians relied on mobile radios and desktop e-mail. The radios were encountering dead spots, and the e-mail system wasn't mobile, explains Simon Wood, British Airways' airport business manager (www.britishairways.com).

“We needed a pager that offered interactive communication and the ability to communicate via e-mail as well,” Wood says. “We chose Bell-South at the time — now Cingular — after reviewing their products and deciding we didn't need to go further. The RIM device we trialed had more functionality than we actually deemed necessary.”

Using Cingular's Interactive Messaging Plus service (www.cingularinteractive.com) on RIM 950 wireless handheld devices (www.rim.net) complements the technicians' existing communications channels.

“The ability to get confirmation of delivery was critical because we are talking about the passing of operationally critical data,” Wood says. “We wanted the ability to order and track the fault calls. We wanted group communications so we could keep everyone up to date, and we wanted the ability to communicate with the U.K. after the normal hours of business with the time difference. The fact that they could now send and dispatch messages on the move to the U.K. was a key factor.”

Beyond functionality, Wood based his evaluation on cost and coverage.

“One, certainly, was cost,” he says. “The devices and the plan offered to us was very cost-effective. Second, was coverage. We had to ensure that we could get coverage to the technicians regardless of where they were in the building, out on the ramp area, at our cargo facility or even at the Newark airport.”

Eight British Airways technicians now use the solution at JFK, Wood says. He has considered using wireless data solutions for other airline functions, including marketing, baggage tracking and mobile check-in points.

By using the Interactive Messaging Plus service, technicians have been able to make repairs quickly and avoid lengthy delays.

“The cost element ties in with the ability to close faults quicker,” Wood said, “which allows us to get our aircraft away on time, and any delay in aircraft is an enormous overhead cost to us.”

Mobility Checklist

Mobilize CEO Bob Pinna has developed a checklist for evaluating wireless data solutions. The checklist is based on internal Web surveys of the company's enterprise customers.

1. Develop a clear business case.

   “It seems obvious, but there are a lot of initiatives that get blocked early on because there just isn't a compelling ROI,” Pinna says.

2. Data integration. Wireless solutions require the combination of data from multiple, disparate information systems (often called enterprise-application-integration technology). Pinna thinks this is the most challenging part of any solution.

3. Security. Remote access to information must be authorized. Device theft can be an issue, especially where sales-force turnover is high.

4. Coverage. Consider whether the app is going to be used primarily in buildings, outside of a major metro area or in a dense urban environment.

5. Alerts. Field service workers can benefit greatly from alerting capabilities that allow them to save time and serve customers more effectively.

6. Pilot program. Users know what they want. Listen to them.