Chapter 8: Mobile Electronic Commerce

“Walking and talking is the slowest form of mobile communication.”

—Anonymous

Overview

The use of mobile technologies is steadily on the increase, for both e-commerce and personal uses^[4]. Mobile phones are a common sight today and many people own personal information management (PIM) devices or handheld computers, where they manage their schedule, contacts, and other essential functions. Employees on the move appreciate the value of staying connected with their enterprise and other resources through mobile phones. Most enterprises now have corporate mobile phone plans that make it easier for mobile employees to stay in touch and increase productivity.

With rapidly advancing technologies, most wireless carriers today offer transmission of data in addition to voice signals. For example, you can now receive e-mail on your mobile phone in addition to regular calls. With the growing proliferation of wireless enabled Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), Blackberry mobile e-mail devices, and notebook PCs, it is all the more important to ensure that the mobile employees are connected to, and supported by, the enterprise^[6]. Although the terms “mobile” and “wireless” are often used interchangeably, they are two different things:

• Mobile devices are portable, electronic components that are used by mobile people to do their work.

• Mobile pertains to the ability of an entity to be on the move.

• Wireless pertains to the technology that allows transmission of voice, data, and other content through radio waves over the air, not restricted to physical cables^[2] or other physical mediums^[1].

It is wireless technology that facilitates employee or enterprise mobility. Mobile devices depend on wireless technology to connect to the enterprise and conduct transfer of content in order to fulfill the users’ e-commerce needs.

It is not surprising that an increasing number of employees are demanding mobile support from their enterprise in order to maximize performance. Without a proper mobile strategy in place, most enterprises will fail to meet their cost and performance objectives. In fact, recent studies have shown that mobile employees connected to the enterprise are much more effective than if their enterprise did not support a mobile workplace. For employees whose work is mostly away from their desktops, this is an important issue.

Mobile employees have a long list of enterprise capabilities needed to support their work. Here are some basic requirements:

• Adequate protection of information on wireless devices to ensure that confidential business information is not lost or stolen

• Wireless connection to enterprise assets using laptops, PDAs, mobile phones, and other devices for flexible access to business processes

• Mobile connection via laptops so that work can be done from anywhere

• Real-time synchronization of information to ensure accuracy and consistency

• Ability to receive appropriate alerts and messages to the mobile device in order to carry out required job functions with optimal efficiency^[1]

The expectations previously listed are quite typical, and today’s mobile infrastructure is able to deliver them with significant success. The wireless industry is continually evolving, with new developments springing up at an accelerated pace.

The line between computing and telephony is slowly blurring. Devices that combine the features of mobile phones and PDAs are becoming quite popular in the market today. Eventually, it will be one combined device you carry—where you do your scheduling, e-mail, Web surfing, videoconferences, document management, and take all your business and personal calls. This would be a true all-around utility device. With data storage capabilities^[3] and network bandwidth steadily improving, it won’t be long before you have the capabilities of a currently availablehigh-end desktop computer available in a device that fits into your pocket. One can only speculate the ramifications this convergence of devices will have on the way you work and how enterprises will function.

^[4]Vacca, John R., i-mode Crash Course, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2001.

^[6]Vacca, John R., Wireless Data Demystified, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003.

^[2]Vacca, John R., The Cabling Handbook (2nd Edition), Prentice Hall PTR, 2000.

^[1]Deshpande, Sumit, “Enabling Mobile eBusiness Success,” 2003 Computer Associates International, Inc., One Computer Associates Plaza, Islandia, NY 11749, 2003.

^[3]Vacca, John R., The Essential Guide to Storage Area Networks, Prentice HallPTR, 2001.