Getting Data Right — And Right Now

Wireless data has inspired some wild and breathless predictions, but here's one that seems grounded in reality: Forget about owning it all. Success hinges on alliances that allow partners to play to their individual strengths.

"If you can't partner effectively, you're in trouble," Michael Capellas, Compaq president & CEO, said at Wireless 2000.

Capellas was referring to partnerships between wireless-service providers and content providers, but it's a philosophy that can be applied elsewhere. Case in point: Nortel Networks' and Research in Motion's (RIM's) Always On, Always Connected alliance, which promises a range of turnkey wireless-data solutions that include both infrastructure and user devices. But the alliance is about more than grabbing a share of the nascent wireless-data market. By joining forces, the companies can deliver products and services to market faster than if they went it alone.

A potential side benefit for Nortel and RIM is reduced churn: Selling service providers a tightly knit package of hardware, software and devices discourages them from considering other vendors. More importantly, combining their expertise helps avoid glitches that would sour wireless-service providers and users as wireless data takes its first steps.

"We don't want another instance of CDPD," said Steve Paolini, Nortel director, wireless-Internet marketing, wireless & carrier solutions. The industry's missteps and delays stunted CDPD's growth, and the lesson learned was get it right and then get it to market.

But getting it right also means finding interfaces that make for a good user experience. One way to cope with small screens, clumsy keyboards and the paucity of wireless-ready Web sites is to use voice commands to, for example, read e-mail or get a stock quote.

Quixi takes a similar approach with its "personal-bandwidth" strategy, but instead of interactive voice response, a human being fields requests. The quixi suite, which launches in 2Q00, includes Shop, where the user can ask the helper to find and purchase, say, a book but only if it's available at a certain price.

The human touch also means that quixi's success isn't tied to the availability of WAP devices and wireless-ready Web sites. Keeping user-computer interaction to a minimum also should help promote wireless e-commerce: By one estimate, more than 25% of all wireline e-commerce transactions are abandoned because there's no convenient way for the shopper to ask questions or remedy technical glitches.

"They get it: It's a person; they can help," said Evan Marwell, one of quixi's founders.

Quixi's initial target is time-starved professionals, whose on-the-go lifestyles are reflected in their wireless usage of more than 800 minutes/month. The suite also includes Find, which can locate, for example, directions or movie times, and Connect, which puts users in touch with anyone in their electronic Rolodexes.