Do you see the difficulty of interacting with cellular providers as a barrier to enterprise adoption of wireless data? As a cellular cost control consultant I regularly hear: "How can we add data when we cannot even get our bill under control?"
QUESTION POSED ON: 07 JUN 2006
QUESTION ANSWERED BY: Tim Scannell
Billing may be the least worry for enterprise users considering cellular data alternatives. While wireless carriers in the U.S. are still locked into that billing mindset when it comes to keeping a hold on customers (through restrictive contracts), the winds are changing and the wireless service providers realize there are more benefits and revenues to be made by providing data services and content than by watching the cellular clock.
All of the cellular carriers in the U.S. are looking into ways to expand their data services to current and future customers, especially as they position themselves to compete with expanding Wi-Fi networks and the spread of metro-area Wi-Fi and mesh networks. These services range from basic data retrieval and exchanges to sophisticated CRM and supply chain stuff. The carriers are still the pipeline, but third-party companies offer subscription-based services through this wireless conduit.
The benefits of taking the cellular route are numerous, including:
- More widespread connection availability,
- Robust connections and
- The ability to easily link with suppliers and customers.
This is why cell phones and "smartphone" devices are fast becoming the tool of choice among the business mobile set.
The real barriers to cellular data services will be reliability, security and interaction among disparate networks. The reliability issue will diminish as the cell companies erect more towers and develop more pervasive systems.
Cellular systems are considered more secure than Wi-Fi, but they are also very susceptible to viruses and bugs that can be inserted through instant messages and attached files. The cell companies are working with Symantec, F-Secure and others to offer filtering technology to block malicious code and keep it from wending its way back to the corporate data resource. Although it is flourishing in Europe, this effort has lagged in the U.S.,. (It's a premium add-on for users, unfortunately!)
The interactivity question is currently answered by third-party solutions that can juggle multiple network types and provide synchronization services for cellular, Wi-Fi and proprietary networks. However, cellular carriers in the U.S. are still determined to keep their kingdom walls in place and own as much territory as they can. This may be good old American entrepreneurship, but from an enterprise standpoint it means there are more than a few roadblocks to productivity and return on investment.
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