Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Getting in Gear

    By
    eWEEK EDITORS
    -
    October 29, 2001
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Most experts believe business users will be the first to widely adopt mobile data applications. But many operators remain narrowly focused on the consumer marketplace, leaving enterprises searching in the dark for wireless data solutions.

      After deciding to invest in going mobile, many corporations dont know where to find the best applications. They can try to build solutions internally, examine the countless companies that offer apps or consult with their wireless service providers.

      In many cases, however, an enterprise uses a number of different operators and often doesnt have a strong relationship with any of them. Wireless Knowledge has noticed that the chief information officers and chief technical officers of its potential enterprise customers have established relationships with a variety of vendors, ranging from Cisco Systems, Lotus and Microsoft to their broadband connectivity providers.

      “Over and over, we find the one relationship they dont have at all is with their wireless provider,” says Jeff Ross, Wireless Knowledges director of business development.

      Even when an enterprise does have a relationship with an operator, the company may not have much luck working with the operator on data solutions. “Operators are generally more consumer-oriented. Value-added services and integration to enterprise applications is not something they focus on,” says David Coelho, CEO and president of MobileSys, which offers wireless integration to enterprise applications. He founded the company because he has observed how difficult it can be for enterprises to find and deploy wireless data solutions.

      MobileSys has relationships with most wireless operators and has integrated its product with more than 100 enterprise applications from vendors such as IBM, Oracle, Siebel Systems and Sybase. “What that means for the enterprise is it can literally be an instant-on,” Coelho says.

      The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority signed on with MobileSys to give its highly mobile workers the ability to send and receive information from a central source. Workers use a variety of pagers, mobile phones and personal digital assistants. Ben Graham, MARTAs manager of network engineering, found that operators and product vendors had solutions that would only work with their own products. “From the view of a manager, I was trying to trim down and not have a lot of different applications to manage and troubleshoot,” he says.

      He found MobileSys at a wireless data conference. The MobileSys solution MARTA uses works with Hewlett-Packards HP OpenView and lets an administrator send messages out to many devices from the single source.

      Wireless operators are, however, beginning to pay attention to enterprise users — especially large corporations — and are building relationships with applications providers. “A lot of carriers dont have a data solution for enterprises. Thats where the big scramble in the market is,” says John Diack, vice president of channels and alliances of Infowave Software.

      Wireless Knowledge has deals with several operators, including Verizon Wireless and Sprint PCS. Nextel Communications has partnerships with 17 application providers.

      Cingular Wireless has relationships with applications providers including Infowave, Oracle and Siebel. Many of the enterprise users of Cingulars networks want to extend existing apps to mobile workers, says Tom Langan, Cingulars executive director of partner alliance management. And, enterprises are more often looking for platforms that can support a number of different applications. Instead of deploying one app for field technicians and another for mobile executives, enterprises want to be able to support both using the same solution, he says.

      Most of Cingulars mobile data customers are large corporations, but small and midsize companies do contact Cingulars sales force looking for data solutions. For those companies, the sales process is more reactive then proactive, Langan says.

      Infowave partners with operators interested in pursuing the enterprise user and considers operators to be “opportunity engines,” Diack says. “The key play here is that most carriers have access to Fortune 500 customers.” Infowave helps train operator salespeople to recognize opportunities at the enterprise so they can connect enterprises with Infowave. Sprint PCS and Canadian operators Rogers AT&T Wireless and Telus Mobility all are Infowave partners.

      The most challenging path an enterprise can choose is building a solution internally. Several MobileSys customers tried to do so before turning to MobileSys. “Youd be confronted with a difficult uphill battle and it could take months or years to put it in place,” Coelho says.

      eWEEK EDITORS
      eWeek editors publish top thought leaders and leading experts in emerging technology across a wide variety of Enterprise B2B sectors. Our focus is providing actionable information for today’s technology decision makers.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×