Facilitators of a Wireless Environment

In order to facilitate a mobile e-commerce environment, participation of several partners is required, namely:

• Independent hardware vendors (IHVs)

• Independent software vendors (ISVs)

• Mobile device manufacturers

• Service providers (SPs)

• Wireless operators (or carriers)^[1]

Note

Connecting all these participants together to create a viable solution are systems integrators with focused practices in mobile e-commerce implementation.

Wireless Hardware

There are numerous devices that are wireless-enabled to facilitate an efficient mobile workforce. Some of the top companies that provide these devices are:

Compaq: The makers of iPAQ handheld computers and notebook PCs. They are used in many enterprise settings due to their versatility and high performance. They use Microsoft’s PocketPC platform as their operating system.

Kyocera: They specialize in mobile phones with PDA capabilities, using the Palm OS.

Nokia: The leading mobile phone manufacturer, with innovating products that combine mobile phones, PDAs, and other features.

Palm: Currently the leading provider of PDAs; their operating system, called Palm OS, is a popular platform for wireless application deployment.

Research In Motion (RIM): The makers of the increasingly popular Blackberry wireless devices that allow mobile users to send and receive e-mail.

Symbol: The leading manufacturer of wireless devices and scanners for retail, utilizing the latest technology in bar code scanning^[1].

Wireless devices add value to the enterprise only when they connect to the IT infrastructure and are actively supported by the administration. Access points, network cards, and other components essential to the deployment of a wireless communications infrastructure are available from several vendors, including:

• 3Com

• Cisco^[4]

• Fujitsu

• HP

• IBM

• Siemens^[1]

Note

With the wireless infrastructure in place, it is important to choose the right carrier to facilitate high-quality communications.

Wireless Operators

Wireless operators are organizations that provide the hardware and communications infrastructure to make wireless transmission possible in a wireless LAN and/or a wireless WAN environment (see Figure 8.3)^[1]. Most of these provide basic wireless phone services and many of them now offer services to transmit data in various forms. The top three wireless carriers worldwide are listed in Table 8.1^[1].

Table 8.1: The top three international wireless operators

Wireless Operator	Country of Service
Vodafone	Germany
China Mobile	China
NTT DoCoMo Inc.	Japan

The top wireless carriers in the United States are:

• AT&T Wireless

• Cingular Wireless

• Sprint PCS

• Verizon Wireless^[1]

Depending on the geographical scope of your organization, you will have to choose the right partner who can provide the required regional and/or national coverage necessary for your e-commerce.

Wireless Software

The wireless software industry is still maturing; furthermore, although most of the players are niche solution providers, very few actually provide substantial value to enterprise deployments. Ranging from low footprint applications like mini-browsers or PDA utilities, to more sophisticated solutions like interdevice communications or global positioning systems, wireless software vendors are engaged in several innovative research and development initiatives. Companies such as Microsoft, Sun, Palm, and others are active in this area.

When deploying a mobile e-commerce strategy, you have to consider the right combination of wireless network architecture, platforms, infrastructure components, devices, and applications in order to be successful. Figure 8.3 depicts a typical wireless architecture adopted by most enterprises.

Figure 8.3: Enterprise-wide view of the wireless infrastructure.

Even with the absence of ubiquitous standards, the current wireless infrastructure is stable enough to support and deploy wireless applications developed for the mobile workforce. As wireless technologies mature, the quality and availability of wireless software will also grow. An important factor to consider is the need to secure and manage the enterprise infrastructure, while making all the necessary assets available to your mobile workforce.