Mobile Internet

When will mBusiness go mainstream?

Datamonitor

According to Datamonitor's Richard Clifford, though mass-market use is still a couple of years away at best, an industry upturn may well be on the way! Wireless devices such as mobile phones, PDAs and laptops are enabling the office worker - when out of the office or working from home - to gain access to emails, personal information like online calendars, task lists and address book services, and to access the corporate intranet and the Web. The financial services sector, investment banking in particular, is currently the largest sector of adoption in the mBusiness market.

For example, in the US, applications such as access to real-time equity information for traders on the floor are driving mobile middleware vendors' sales. Professional services companies are also investing in mobile middleware as opportunity costs revolve around a connected remote workforce. Vendors are receiving most success in deploying applications such as mobile email and personal information management functions (PIM) in this sector.

Manufacturing companies are deploying solutions to integrate supply chains, to reduce cycle times and lower costs. The idea of mobilizing the field force is receiving interest from the manufacturing and utilities sectors, particularly in the UK. In its mCommerce end-user survey: mCommerce trends in Europe 2001, Datamonitor asked 208 enterprises where mobile solutions were most likely to be used. Fifty nine percent stated the main users would be the salesforce. The ability to take a customer order directly and immediately during customer meetings enables a salesperson to process transactions more quickly and efficiently.

The salesperson's ability to check inventory levels and guarantee product delivery to a customer is yet more compelling. This will enhance immediate customer satisfaction and allow the enterprise to manage its inventory levels more efficiently, reducing the financial investment in inventory, which immediately drops to the bottom line. The enterprise will also be able to ship and then invoice the customer more quickly, which has an immediate and measurable impact on cash flow and the availability of capital.

Although the current market for mobile solutions is heavily geared towards field service workers, vendors should not neglect the potential to equip other business users -- particularly, senior managers. Access to real-time wireless data can aid swift decision-making and with management often 'on the road', there is a need to equip them with devices that can be used to access the latest information such as emails, production and daily sales records.