Is computing is heading for another revolution?  Before the world weary cynics comment that it must be at least a couple of months since the last one, it is at least clear that the advent of mobile communications is heralding a new age of mobile computing which will enable the mobile enterprise.

And if ever there was a business that was, by its very nature, a truly mobile one it is field service.  So can we expect it to be in the vanguard of any mobile computing revolution? Or is the humble computer little more than a box at the end of the line and a commodity item?

These questions were put to a number of mobility specialists and the answers were a resounding yes and no.  

It seems the range of features that are available to hang off on the mobile device combined with the opportunity for combined voice and data within it are producing excited opinions.  Pierre Lams, the managing director of computing company Handheld PCs, says:  ‘We are involved in projects with Smartphones in service management which take advantage of onboard cameras and integrated voice on devices to assist with producing pictures and voice recordings as evidence, therefore eliminating invoice queries and reducing the exposure to incurring penalties against service level agreements.’

According to Neville de Mendonca, the technical director of IEA,  the issue is not whether the computer is a  commodity but is it an open solution.  ‘A system that is not hardware specific can be crucial to successful implementation,’ he says.  ‘In some cases existing hardware can even be used for new applications. In this situation, users will already be comfortable with the hardware, so this means minimum disruption and training as well as keeping costs down.’

Furthermore, Nigel Clarke, the vice president and general manager for Dexterra in Europe,  warns not to confuse decreasing prices with commoditisation.  ‘Users have probably never had a wider choice of devices. The emergence of high-volume, non-proprietary platforms has helped drive down prices - but it has also meant that adding special purpose functionality is enabling users to have devices with exactly the right combination of functionality at reasonable prices’. And he echoes the thoughts on open systems. ‘Organisations must learn to chose to provide staff with the right device for the role, and not be locked-in to any one vendor.’
And as well as cameras, modern service mobile computers are providing other value add by working with peripherals such as printers, keyboards and barcode and RFID scanners but Shahzad Naeem of  Portech thinks the shift towards putting computing power in the hands of the engineers is more fundamental.  ‘There has been a significant shift in the attitude towards mobile devices in recent months and the introduction of the Pocket PC has been a deciding factor in this shift,’ he says.   ‘The shift is about whether a mobile device is just a digital calendar or a vital element of an enterprise extension of process and system.’

What makes the modern computing device more useful now is that it makes ‘information available at any time, from anywhere’.  He adds that this is not just using simple applications but real business relevant tools.  ‘Pocket PCs bring mobile calendar, e-mail, and note taking capabilities to a work force, but these do not drive business benefits. A true mobile mindset considers the Pocket PCs to be portable "containers" for mobile solutions, not just digital calendars and notebooks.’

However, this has been the promise of mobile data/computer communications for some time and there are many applications that have demonstrably show business benefits in terms of scheduling jobs on the hoof and real time tracking.  But does the promise of Voice over IP – effectively using the internet link to have a phone call – and its availability over the digital phone networks promise to shake things up?  Generally our experts are enthused but cautious. 

Paul Duggan, the managing director of Datalogic, says:  ‘We will see a move towards a single unit for mobile workers that manages voice and data, thereby eliminating the need for a mobile phone and this will undoubtedly result in many new applications running on the mobile computers.’   We are finding that there are still quite a few companies that are just making the move to data communication and others for whom there is no business need for voice’ says Adam Dykman of Codegate. 

‘VoIP is only relevant for interpersonal communication from base to base and does not extend to mobiles today,’ says Edward Belgeonne the CEO of Destiny Wireless.  ‘VoIP has very limited benefits in the context of data communications scenarios – one of the key drivers of “data only” applications is to improve efficiency by reducing the time spent by office based staff verbally despatching job details to field based workers,’ says Dave Upton the managing director of DA Systems.

Indeed, there are words of warning not to go for new glittery technology just because it is new and glittery.  ‘I believe that technology should never be pursued for its own sake,’ says Clarke. ‘VoIP is one of a number of technologies that can provide benefits under certain circumstances. Used correctly it can help reduce call charges or add new functionality. Buyers need to examine how such technologies can help support their current business processes as well as helping in the future.’

Duggan sees the immediate service future being rooted in mobile data with voice as an assistant. ‘The real business issues are still to do with improving productivity and for now this can only ever be resolved through data.  Real time data communications enables a company to automatically re-route a mobile worker, to track his or her movements in a day and to get real time information back to enable instant invoicing and stock re-ordering.  Voice is still needed as it enables the mobile worker to speak to someone directly but if you rely exclusively on voice you will lose many of these benefits - the two go hand in hand.’

This is clearly one of the reasons why many companies have hung on to voice communications with expensive mobile phones over going to pure data is the attitude of their engineers.  Engineers like to be able to make calls both professionally and domestically and they are familiar with the technology so user acceptance is not a problem.  Going to new technology can be a personnel rather than a technical problem say the experts.

Dexterra’s Clarke observes: ‘I regard user acceptance as probably the biggest non-technical barrier to success.  Many mobility projects fail because they attempt to impose an alien style of working on the user, with little perceived benefit to them.’

And the repercussions of this attitude can be dramatic and critical.  ‘Any new technology requiring companies to make changes to their working practices or the accountability of their field workers, will face great resistance and is highly likely to fail at implementation,’ says Belgeonne.  ‘During the pilot phase, users are looking to find fault and will sometimes crash the pilot on purpose.’

Julie Purves, the managing director of mobile management specialist b2m, believes the fault lies with managers.  ‘On some very large-scale mobile rollouts often the main desire has been to build vast and complex mobile applications – so much so, that it almost becomes an extension of a typical office application moved out to a mobile device,’ she says.  ‘In these situations, the mobile worker is bombarded with a huge amount of information and complexity. And this can have a very negative effect on their willingness to work with this new mobile technology.’

The solution, though, is not rocket science.  ‘It’s natural to feel threatened by what you don’t understand so demystifying the technology is a key part of the process, says Dykman.  So get them on your side says Belgeonne.  ‘If you can introduce a technology that requires minimal change to existing business processes and users gain real benefits from it in terms of time savings and productivity, then users will accept it and the implementation will succeed’ he says.   Neville de Mondonca believes managers have to appeal to both sides of the engineers’ nature.  ‘Management have a part to play by offering carrots e.g. "your expenses will be paid immediately", as well as sticks: "no time sheets, no expenses reimbursed", in order to move the project forward.'

Lams argues for user acceptance by simply making it something they want to use.   ‘We have found by including the users in the process of selection of the devices and also by giving the users a “personal win” i.e. allowing them to use some of the features of a Smartphone for personal use such as gaming or music, then they are more likely to take care of the device.’

Duggan has some extra advice on grabbing engineer interest – communication and satellite navigation.  ‘Tell the users why you are introducing the new solution and what the benefits are both to the company and how it should make their jobs easier, he says. ‘Consider setting us a user group to test the product before rollout.  Ensure you provide extra applications that also make their job easier, as well as improving communications and fulfilling the business need.  Satnav is one such example.’

Julie Purves says managers need to appeal to their engineers’ professional nature and needs.  ‘To ensure acceptance, those in field service need to have total confidence in their mobile device and regard it as just a “black box” – as they would any other tool they use,’ she says. ‘This means that they need to be confident that it will do the job i.e. provide them with the information they need and deliver accurate reports back to their organisation consistently, without the fear of data loss or corruption.’

Clarke adds: ‘Key to user acceptance is the ability to make changes to the systems without disrupting the user - it should never be necessary for the user to return the device or take time out of their working day to accommodate changes unless there has been a catastrophic hardware failure.’

So is the whiff of revolution in the air?  If the communications networks are there, the technology price barrier is lowering making it available to small companies as well and engineers can be persuaded to use them what is holding it back?. 

‘Mobile solutions in the enterprise hold such solid promise because they enable today's activities to take place more efficiently and more effectively, anywhere,’  says Naeem. ‘The first wave of mobile solutions will not revolutionise business or systems. Rather, they will extend existing processes and systems by making them available to a mobile workforce.’

So change is certainly on the way but revolution?  We’ll just have to wait another couple of months.