Practical Return on Investment
Over the years a considerable number of Enterprise Mobility projects failed to get off the ground because of failure to secure project funding due to weak business cases. This article will explore the specifics of practical Return on Investment, including and avoid falling at the first hurdle through a lack of understanding of the expected ROI. It will include suggested methods of calculating this and incorporating it into the ROI calculation.
This guide will explore tangible benefits that can be proved after deployment and how they are achieved. It will then walk through an example, which is based on a real company, and draw conclusions on the benefits that can be confidently used in a business case.
In a process based environment, it is possible to map out your current workflows and create a model of how the implementation of a mobility solution will impact upon these.
Let’s consider some of the features of mobile solutions. Listed below are some of these:
· Remote dynamic data capture
· Vehicle tracking
· Workforce visibility
· Real time status updates
· Workforce reporting
· Spare parts ordering
· Work planning
· Signature capture
· Same day invoicing
· Process compliance
· Dynamic database updates
· Event costing
· Technical data distribution
· Intranet access
· Best practice
· Automatic job closure
· Work audit trail
· Work order/job dispatch
· Health & safety procedures
· Time sheet reporting
These mobility features offer a wide range of benefits, and yes they’re all real. They all offer business improvement; many of them offer cost improvement by reducing fixed overhead or increasing revenue. Many of these benefits are indisputable as contributing to business improvement, but few of them can be absolutely relied upon as part of your business case. Why? Proving their realisation after the project deployment is very difficult. Firstly we must separate these features into those that would benefit your business the most and those that can be measured and therefore provide a tangible return on investment.
So what could be determined as a measurable benefit?
Improved Customer Service
Customers retained equals revenue protected
Better KPIs / performance
Event cost reduced and revenues protected
Efficiency improvements
Fixed overhead reduced
Increase competitive advantage
Increase revenues
Improved data integrity
Administration and re-work costs reduced
Improved workforce moral
Empowered workforce; reduction in training and recruitment costs
Improved management data
Strategic decision making
Above are generic examples of where organisations have recorded tangible benefit, post implementation. There are two factors common to all these examples: Firstly, they’re all incontrovertibly real and make a difference in terms of profitability; but secondly, they are all more or less impossible to put a value against prior to deploying the solution! Having said this, it is my experience that many supporters have tried to implement and met with some severe resistance following boardroom scrutiny. Not that I am suggesting you should ignore any positive change that mobility solutions can bring, however, if measurement is difficult then by all means include these in the business case, but not in your return on investment calculation.
Most businesses target productivity improvement and headcount reduction/refocus through saving minutes-per-case of the remote workforce time. This is a good approach provided that appropriate due diligence is undertaken, see the example below which has in the past caught out many managers.
Example
“So if we remove the necessity for our Inspector to hand write a 15-minute report by providing him with a PDA on which he can collect the same data in 7 minutes, we can create sufficient excess capacity for each Inspector to do one extra job per day!”
Well…maybe, but are you sure you can turn that extra capacity into extra productivity?
Or will your Inspector just go home earlier?
What we need to do for a solid business case is to focus on real, tangible, easily measurable benefit:
Here are some fundamental examples:
Elimination of manual process
Reduction in staff time to complete
Reduction in material overhead (stationary)
Reduction in fuel costs
Reduction in voice telephony (replaced with data)
Reduction in communications costs
Reduced billing cycle
Cash flow improvement
These examples are areas where we can demonstrate a realistic quantitative approach by the production of sufficient incontrovertible evidence to justify the investment – obviously this needs to be a bigger number than the solution’s Total Cost of Ownership! It also needs to give the board confidence that this really is a major step forward in improving the business.
Using this simple but practical process to calculate your own return on investment should assist in securing board funding for your project. So why not start the process today ? However, be aware that once your enterprise mobility project is deployed you will probably be asked to prove you have realised your business case, so make sure you follow through by instigating all your proposed actions of your business plan.
Wednesday, 29 August 2007
Tuesday, 28 August 2007
Mobile Security a more detailed view
The subject of mobile device security has a controversial past; stories of computers being stolen complete with MOD intelligence data and drive-by hacking into corporate wireless networks using Pringle tubes as antennas, make it into the press on a regular basis. These stories paint a picture that shows mobile devices and wireless technology as inherently insecure, when in the majority of cases the victims of hackers and mobile device thieves, have not shown due diligence over the impact of wireless technologies and mobile devices on their security policy.
Corporate wireless local area network “LAN” has had its fair share of horror stories. The most popular being ”For speed we used the default settings pre-programmed into the access point”, well guess what? These can be found on the manufacturers support site! This results, in the majority of cases, in stolen bandwidth from unprotected access points.
If you consider the following points when looking at security, you will not go far wrong!
This article deals with the individual risk elements and attempts to suggest an approach to risk mitigation, however security risk is very subjective with some organisations adopting mobile security policies that others would find unacceptable.
First let us consider the impact of wireless bearer services on security risk.
Wireless Local Area Network “WLAN”
Wireless LAN over the last two to three years has proven to be very successful. The uptake has resulted in wireless LAN hardware becoming very cost effective and it is now deployed in many corporate companies. Numerous mobile devices now support WLAN and as a result of this will be exposed to the same threats as a notebook computer. Consideration must be given to the initial connection to the wireless infrastructure. It is essential to establish a documented wireless LAN policy, which should cover the following elements:
WLAN usage
Network configuration
Security
Organisations must first define the procedures for the proper use of wireless LANs. This typically includes the applications that run across the wireless LAN and the exact locations where wireless LANs should and should not be deployed within the enterprise.
WLANs in Uncontrolled Environments
The widespread growth of wireless LAN technology into all new laptop computers and a significant number of mobile computing devices, such as the Pocket PC, ultimately forces organisations to decide exactly where and what types of networks employees are allowed to connect with. The growth of public wireless LANs (Hot spots) opens the door for convenient connectivity outside the office. However, these public networks offer little security and can potentially attract unscrupulous hackers who can take advantage of unsuspecting users. Consideration should be given to the usage of Hot spots and appropriate security measures, such as the use of VPN and strong authentication, must be examined.
Encryption & Authentication
Wireless LAN’s do not respect the physical boundaries of a building, therefore encryption and authentication are essential. The vulnerability of Wired Equivalent Privacy “WEP”, the first encryption standard for wireless LANs, has been well documented. However, all wireless LANs should as a minimum, activate this basic encryption to protect their data from the general public who can passively “sniff” the traffic in the air to get open access to all unencrypted data. Enterprises should establish a policy that mandates all traffic be encrypted with WEP, as the lowest level of security. Stronger encryption and authentication is available and should be considered. Recently the Wi-Fi Alliance in conjunction with the IEEE have worked together to launch a more secure protocol Wireless Protected Access “WPA” providing enhanced data encryption as yet this new protocol is not supported by the majority of mobile devices, but if at all possible WPA should be used in future deployments of wireless LAN infrastructure.
Security Policies
Many security issues of wireless LANs can be addressed with a correctly configured network. However, enterprises should also implement additional security polices for their wireless LANs to address the deployment of unauthorised wireless LAN hardware and unauthorised activity on the network. An employee, vendor, or on-site consultant can unknowingly put all information assets at risk with a £55.00 consumer-grade access point, purchased from a local “PC’s R Us” store. This unauthorised access point will circumvent all existing network security by broadcasting an open connection to the corporate network.
Mobile Devices with Wireless LAN Connectivity
Virtial Private Network “VPN” for wireless connections enables Windows based Mobile devices to use WLAN based connections to communicate with a corporate network by using the same VPN technologies that are available to wired clients. With VPN security for wireless connections, employees have user authentication and a strongly encrypted connection.
Devices such as Microsoft’s Windows Mobile have very capable WLAN connectivity and should not be considered any different to a laptop that is capable of holding large amounts of corporate data. These mobile devices are subject to loss or theft, even more than laptops. This susceptibility makes the security of locally stored data on mobile devices a high priority. Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs allow network administrators to implement strong password policies, such as power-on passwords and Smartcard authentication, to help secure access to mobile devices and the data they store.
It is imperative that the devices deployed support WEP wireless security, which uses a pre-shared wireless key to encrypt wireless connections. WEP provides the least amount of wireless security for mobile devices and the technology’s security flaws have been well documented. WEP-based wireless connections can be used in combination with a more secure authentication method, such as a VPN connection.
General Packet Radio System “GPRS” and third generation networks “3G”
When using GPRS/3G similar precautions should be taken as with the deployment of WLAN. Your policy should include:
GPRS usage
Network configuration
Security
The use of GPRS data within the corporate space is growing at a rapid rate, with expenditure on Field Mobility solutions increasing year after year, making GPRS the current bearer service of choice for the corporate. From a security perspective the radio interface of the GSM network is relatively secure as it is controlled by the GSM network's security via a 64-bit encryption algorithm. Security issues arise when data needs to leave the GPRS network to be delivered to either the Internet or a company LAN.
There are two basic ways to implement reliable and somewhat secure remote connections for accessing corporate intranets over GPRS. Some of these solutions focus only on providing safe passage over the public Internet, others provide security via ‘closed’ user groups.
Internet connection
Your company probably already has an Internet connection (though you may need more capacity if you add large numbers of GPRS users) and this provides a quick and easy and cost effective way of connection to GPRS. The key problem is to deliver data securely to users, using strong encryption such as Secure Socket Layer “SSL” (128 bit) or VPN (162 bit). If it is allowed by the chosen GPRS network supplier, it is possible to set up encrypted VPN connections in to corporate networks, although there will be some degradation in performance caused by the processing required to encrypt the data, although this is typically negligible. Data sizes will also be increased due to the overhead of the VPN protocol. . GPRS Connections should be treated as a standard dial-up Internet connection to an ISP and similar security precautions should be taken.
Leased Line connection
Leased lines provide the most secure method of connecting into the GPRS network but are traditionally expensive and tie subscribers in to a specific network. The protocol over the leased line would normally be frame relay terminated, via a router. The leased line provides a closed connection from the mobile device via the carrier into the corporate enterprise, providing a high level of security. For additional protection use strong encryption (such as SSL or VPN) and of course strong authentication.
Mobile Devices and GPRS/3G
Currently there are many integrated Mobile devices with GPRS, which makes the connection back into the corporate enterprise comparatively straightforward. The usability of the mobile device needs to be taken into consideration when planning a security policy. Allow for the possibility of losing or having the device stolen and ensure that data is stored centrally. Potentially these mobile devices will be out of the office for the majority of the working day, which increases their vulnerability, so thought should be given to the use of power-on passwords, Smartcard authentication and the safety of data. If possible, data should be held on mobile devices on a temporary basis and removed when the user has completed the work, thus minimising the risk.
Virus protection must also be considered. At present the risk of virus attack on mobile devices is low, however a small number of Pocket PC viruses have already been discovered. The first was written as a proof of concept by a virus writing group and sent to anti-virus experts. Having reviewed this virus an anti-virus consultant from Sophos was quoted as saying “You're more likely to have a meteorite strike your house than be hit by this virus”. Only a month later the second virus struck, with more serious impact. This allowed an attacker to bi-directionally transfer files and execute commands on an infected device. Whilst the numbers of viruses and impact so far have been minimal, it would be foolish to ignore the possibility and potential consequences, as increased numbers of users store potentially sensitive data on their devices. “Blue Jacking” (using the mobile device’s Bluetooth connection to access the Internet) is another potential source of problems. One precaution is to protect the mobile device by turning off the Bluetooth connectivity or setting it to non-discoverable mode when not in use.
Conclusion
The security of mobile devices could be seen as a major challenge, yet taking a common sense approach reduces the effort. Treat the mobile devices and wireless connectivity as part of your IT landscape and take appropriate steps to mitigate any security risk. Creating a mobile device security policy will pay dividends in securely mobilising your workforce.
Corporate wireless local area network “LAN” has had its fair share of horror stories. The most popular being ”For speed we used the default settings pre-programmed into the access point”, well guess what? These can be found on the manufacturers support site! This results, in the majority of cases, in stolen bandwidth from unprotected access points.
If you consider the following points when looking at security, you will not go far wrong!
Radio based technologies do not respect the physical parameters of a building.
Portable devices are not contained within the physical parameters of a building and should be treated as an extension of your enterprise.
What would the impact be on your business if a mobile device was stolen or lost?
Are your employees using their own mobile computers or smart phones to access email or synchronise data with the desk top computers?
Accessing the corporate enterprise remotely will ultimately require changes to existing security policies.
Background
Most mobile devices connect from outside the security perimeter of corporate networks, exposing them to varying levels of risk. In addition, today’s mobile devices offer many of the same features and applications that employees use on their laptop or desktop computers, including access to the Internet, business applications, calendar and contact information, e-mail etc. As a result, many of the security threats that exist for desktops will exist for mobile devices.
This article deals with the individual risk elements and attempts to suggest an approach to risk mitigation, however security risk is very subjective with some organisations adopting mobile security policies that others would find unacceptable.
First let us consider the impact of wireless bearer services on security risk.
Wireless Local Area Network “WLAN”
Wireless LAN over the last two to three years has proven to be very successful. The uptake has resulted in wireless LAN hardware becoming very cost effective and it is now deployed in many corporate companies. Numerous mobile devices now support WLAN and as a result of this will be exposed to the same threats as a notebook computer. Consideration must be given to the initial connection to the wireless infrastructure. It is essential to establish a documented wireless LAN policy, which should cover the following elements:
WLAN usage
Network configuration
Security
Organisations must first define the procedures for the proper use of wireless LANs. This typically includes the applications that run across the wireless LAN and the exact locations where wireless LANs should and should not be deployed within the enterprise.
WLANs in Uncontrolled Environments
The widespread growth of wireless LAN technology into all new laptop computers and a significant number of mobile computing devices, such as the Pocket PC, ultimately forces organisations to decide exactly where and what types of networks employees are allowed to connect with. The growth of public wireless LANs (Hot spots) opens the door for convenient connectivity outside the office. However, these public networks offer little security and can potentially attract unscrupulous hackers who can take advantage of unsuspecting users. Consideration should be given to the usage of Hot spots and appropriate security measures, such as the use of VPN and strong authentication, must be examined.
Encryption & Authentication
Wireless LAN’s do not respect the physical boundaries of a building, therefore encryption and authentication are essential. The vulnerability of Wired Equivalent Privacy “WEP”, the first encryption standard for wireless LANs, has been well documented. However, all wireless LANs should as a minimum, activate this basic encryption to protect their data from the general public who can passively “sniff” the traffic in the air to get open access to all unencrypted data. Enterprises should establish a policy that mandates all traffic be encrypted with WEP, as the lowest level of security. Stronger encryption and authentication is available and should be considered. Recently the Wi-Fi Alliance in conjunction with the IEEE have worked together to launch a more secure protocol Wireless Protected Access “WPA” providing enhanced data encryption as yet this new protocol is not supported by the majority of mobile devices, but if at all possible WPA should be used in future deployments of wireless LAN infrastructure.
Security Policies
Many security issues of wireless LANs can be addressed with a correctly configured network. However, enterprises should also implement additional security polices for their wireless LANs to address the deployment of unauthorised wireless LAN hardware and unauthorised activity on the network. An employee, vendor, or on-site consultant can unknowingly put all information assets at risk with a £55.00 consumer-grade access point, purchased from a local “PC’s R Us” store. This unauthorised access point will circumvent all existing network security by broadcasting an open connection to the corporate network.
Mobile Devices with Wireless LAN Connectivity
Virtial Private Network “VPN” for wireless connections enables Windows based Mobile devices to use WLAN based connections to communicate with a corporate network by using the same VPN technologies that are available to wired clients. With VPN security for wireless connections, employees have user authentication and a strongly encrypted connection.
Devices such as Microsoft’s Windows Mobile have very capable WLAN connectivity and should not be considered any different to a laptop that is capable of holding large amounts of corporate data. These mobile devices are subject to loss or theft, even more than laptops. This susceptibility makes the security of locally stored data on mobile devices a high priority. Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs allow network administrators to implement strong password policies, such as power-on passwords and Smartcard authentication, to help secure access to mobile devices and the data they store.
It is imperative that the devices deployed support WEP wireless security, which uses a pre-shared wireless key to encrypt wireless connections. WEP provides the least amount of wireless security for mobile devices and the technology’s security flaws have been well documented. WEP-based wireless connections can be used in combination with a more secure authentication method, such as a VPN connection.
General Packet Radio System “GPRS” and third generation networks “3G”
When using GPRS/3G similar precautions should be taken as with the deployment of WLAN. Your policy should include:
GPRS usage
Network configuration
Security
The use of GPRS data within the corporate space is growing at a rapid rate, with expenditure on Field Mobility solutions increasing year after year, making GPRS the current bearer service of choice for the corporate. From a security perspective the radio interface of the GSM network is relatively secure as it is controlled by the GSM network's security via a 64-bit encryption algorithm. Security issues arise when data needs to leave the GPRS network to be delivered to either the Internet or a company LAN.
There are two basic ways to implement reliable and somewhat secure remote connections for accessing corporate intranets over GPRS. Some of these solutions focus only on providing safe passage over the public Internet, others provide security via ‘closed’ user groups.
Internet connection
Your company probably already has an Internet connection (though you may need more capacity if you add large numbers of GPRS users) and this provides a quick and easy and cost effective way of connection to GPRS. The key problem is to deliver data securely to users, using strong encryption such as Secure Socket Layer “SSL” (128 bit) or VPN (162 bit). If it is allowed by the chosen GPRS network supplier, it is possible to set up encrypted VPN connections in to corporate networks, although there will be some degradation in performance caused by the processing required to encrypt the data, although this is typically negligible. Data sizes will also be increased due to the overhead of the VPN protocol. . GPRS Connections should be treated as a standard dial-up Internet connection to an ISP and similar security precautions should be taken.
Leased Line connection
Leased lines provide the most secure method of connecting into the GPRS network but are traditionally expensive and tie subscribers in to a specific network. The protocol over the leased line would normally be frame relay terminated, via a router. The leased line provides a closed connection from the mobile device via the carrier into the corporate enterprise, providing a high level of security. For additional protection use strong encryption (such as SSL or VPN) and of course strong authentication.
Mobile Devices and GPRS/3G
Currently there are many integrated Mobile devices with GPRS, which makes the connection back into the corporate enterprise comparatively straightforward. The usability of the mobile device needs to be taken into consideration when planning a security policy. Allow for the possibility of losing or having the device stolen and ensure that data is stored centrally. Potentially these mobile devices will be out of the office for the majority of the working day, which increases their vulnerability, so thought should be given to the use of power-on passwords, Smartcard authentication and the safety of data. If possible, data should be held on mobile devices on a temporary basis and removed when the user has completed the work, thus minimising the risk.
Virus protection must also be considered. At present the risk of virus attack on mobile devices is low, however a small number of Pocket PC viruses have already been discovered. The first was written as a proof of concept by a virus writing group and sent to anti-virus experts. Having reviewed this virus an anti-virus consultant from Sophos was quoted as saying “You're more likely to have a meteorite strike your house than be hit by this virus”. Only a month later the second virus struck, with more serious impact. This allowed an attacker to bi-directionally transfer files and execute commands on an infected device. Whilst the numbers of viruses and impact so far have been minimal, it would be foolish to ignore the possibility and potential consequences, as increased numbers of users store potentially sensitive data on their devices. “Blue Jacking” (using the mobile device’s Bluetooth connection to access the Internet) is another potential source of problems. One precaution is to protect the mobile device by turning off the Bluetooth connectivity or setting it to non-discoverable mode when not in use.
Conclusion
The security of mobile devices could be seen as a major challenge, yet taking a common sense approach reduces the effort. Treat the mobile devices and wireless connectivity as part of your IT landscape and take appropriate steps to mitigate any security risk. Creating a mobile device security policy will pay dividends in securely mobilising your workforce.
Wednesday, 8 August 2007
Facilities Management taking the plunge
Currently, the majority of the facilities management field worker community uses some form of wireless voice communication to maintain contact with either their company or their customers. The most favoured device for this is the ever-popular GSM mobile telephone. However, voice communication comes at what most businesses feel is a prohibitive on-going cost. Most company accountants consider the issuing of this technology as an uncontrolled expense, as voice calls tend to be randomly made and always take too long. Whilst all the current GSM network providers charge according to talk-time, this will always be a problem. Despite this reluctance, most individuals have either a company sponsored GSM telephone or their own GSM phone, which invariably ends up as indirectly company sponsored, through creative expense claims.
However, this could provide an opportunity to maximise the investment in mobile phone technology by expanding its use by using the wireless data services (GPRS) coupled with some sort of portable computing device. This technology coupled with some suitable field mobility software application will eradicate the need for paper and its associated process in what is considered a paper-centric industry, thus facilitating the reduction of operating costs whilst improving customer satisfaction.
Most businesses, up until quite recently, have been either sceptical or unaware of what the wireless technology of today is capable of. More importantly they are still unaware of how to harness this technology to their best advantage and improve their businesses efficiency.
So what are the first steps we need to take to mobilise our workforce?
The first thing to remember when planning your move into mobility, is that it won’t
happen overnight!
The challenge today, given that the facilities management industry is a very mobile centric industry is how to use the wide range of opportunities now available in mobile technology, to keep in touch and provide the important information to our fieldworkers to enable them to complete their work efficiently in the most cost-effective manner.
These are three phases you need to go through, to get there successfully.
1. Understand the technologies
Anyone who has used a mobile phone will know that they do not always have signal to make a call, and certainly some buildings will bock signal making calls from inside them difficult, this compounded with that in certain places the use of mobile phones is not allowed makes the use of mobile phones sometimes a challenge. The same applies to mobile data; therefore when choosing a mobile solution it is imperative that it works equally well without signal as with signal, also ensure that the solution can manage all communication sessions without any intervention from the field worker.
There are several choices to be made. You’ll need good information and advice to consider the technological choices,
· Which voice handsets or portable computing devices you need,
· Which wireless connectivity is the most appropriate (GSM, WiFi),
· Which application software you need.
Once you have deployed your solution, change will be inevitable, as a result of this you need to choose a suitable solution that will easily allow future changes to be made. Your chosen solution should be sophisticated enough to allow you to make changes and these changes should be over the air updated to the field workers , this will allow your business to be in control of your field mobility solution and minimise ongoing costs and allow for you to react quickly to your customers changing requirements on your business
Its a well know fact that when businesses deploy field mobility solutions its only the beginning of the experience, initially you may only need the field mobility solution to interface with a single element of your enterprise, such as your CRM system, however there will probably be future requirement for your field mobility solution to integrate into a ERP, Payroll, Intranet, GPS Tracking etc. Therefore it’s important to ensure that you pick a field mobility solution with the flexibility to work with all your enterprise systems and the flexibility to grow and change as your business grows and changes.
The key is, you shouldn’t try to become the technology expert. Get a partner who is, and who can provide upfront advice and continuing support you can trust.
2. Develop a business plan
Look closely at your business and identify the areas you think would benefit from mobilisation. Then, create model workflows to identify which parts of these processes can be mobilised, use a ‘before and after scenario to calculate the impact upon the workflows. This difference can then be utilised to calculate the return on investment (ROI) you’re likely to achieve. When evaluating the ROI, start with the paperwork being completed by your fieldworkers. In almost all cases, removing the cost of processing paper-based forms should give you a tangible ROI to prove your business case. It’s easier to do that, than to try and measure the return on intangible benefits such as productivity. Make sure in your business case you include the total cost of ownership, this should include costs for the support of your field workers as they come to terms with the technology and on going help should they have any problems with the technology, device management and support will also be a consideration.
3. Take the plunge
This is a good time to get your mobility strategy underway, because;
The necessary mobile technologies exist, and have been proven to work and are relatively low cost.
The wireless networks now offer stable, corporate data services with tariffs that are affordable and attractive
There are an increasing number of proven mobility applications that can be rapidly deployed and easily implemented
Those businesses that have deployed mobility solutions already have seen a significant return on investment
However, this could provide an opportunity to maximise the investment in mobile phone technology by expanding its use by using the wireless data services (GPRS) coupled with some sort of portable computing device. This technology coupled with some suitable field mobility software application will eradicate the need for paper and its associated process in what is considered a paper-centric industry, thus facilitating the reduction of operating costs whilst improving customer satisfaction.
Most businesses, up until quite recently, have been either sceptical or unaware of what the wireless technology of today is capable of. More importantly they are still unaware of how to harness this technology to their best advantage and improve their businesses efficiency.
So what are the first steps we need to take to mobilise our workforce?
The first thing to remember when planning your move into mobility, is that it won’t
happen overnight!
The challenge today, given that the facilities management industry is a very mobile centric industry is how to use the wide range of opportunities now available in mobile technology, to keep in touch and provide the important information to our fieldworkers to enable them to complete their work efficiently in the most cost-effective manner.
These are three phases you need to go through, to get there successfully.
1. Understand the technologies
Anyone who has used a mobile phone will know that they do not always have signal to make a call, and certainly some buildings will bock signal making calls from inside them difficult, this compounded with that in certain places the use of mobile phones is not allowed makes the use of mobile phones sometimes a challenge. The same applies to mobile data; therefore when choosing a mobile solution it is imperative that it works equally well without signal as with signal, also ensure that the solution can manage all communication sessions without any intervention from the field worker.
There are several choices to be made. You’ll need good information and advice to consider the technological choices,
· Which voice handsets or portable computing devices you need,
· Which wireless connectivity is the most appropriate (GSM, WiFi),
· Which application software you need.
Once you have deployed your solution, change will be inevitable, as a result of this you need to choose a suitable solution that will easily allow future changes to be made. Your chosen solution should be sophisticated enough to allow you to make changes and these changes should be over the air updated to the field workers , this will allow your business to be in control of your field mobility solution and minimise ongoing costs and allow for you to react quickly to your customers changing requirements on your business
Its a well know fact that when businesses deploy field mobility solutions its only the beginning of the experience, initially you may only need the field mobility solution to interface with a single element of your enterprise, such as your CRM system, however there will probably be future requirement for your field mobility solution to integrate into a ERP, Payroll, Intranet, GPS Tracking etc. Therefore it’s important to ensure that you pick a field mobility solution with the flexibility to work with all your enterprise systems and the flexibility to grow and change as your business grows and changes.
The key is, you shouldn’t try to become the technology expert. Get a partner who is, and who can provide upfront advice and continuing support you can trust.
2. Develop a business plan
Look closely at your business and identify the areas you think would benefit from mobilisation. Then, create model workflows to identify which parts of these processes can be mobilised, use a ‘before and after scenario to calculate the impact upon the workflows. This difference can then be utilised to calculate the return on investment (ROI) you’re likely to achieve. When evaluating the ROI, start with the paperwork being completed by your fieldworkers. In almost all cases, removing the cost of processing paper-based forms should give you a tangible ROI to prove your business case. It’s easier to do that, than to try and measure the return on intangible benefits such as productivity. Make sure in your business case you include the total cost of ownership, this should include costs for the support of your field workers as they come to terms with the technology and on going help should they have any problems with the technology, device management and support will also be a consideration.
3. Take the plunge
This is a good time to get your mobility strategy underway, because;
The necessary mobile technologies exist, and have been proven to work and are relatively low cost.
The wireless networks now offer stable, corporate data services with tariffs that are affordable and attractive
There are an increasing number of proven mobility applications that can be rapidly deployed and easily implemented
Those businesses that have deployed mobility solutions already have seen a significant return on investment
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Public sector interview
Recently I was interviewed by GBTV on enterprise mobility and the Public Sector, here is the resulting video footage.
Monday, 6 August 2007
Mobile device support and management
Mobile Devices are getting increasingly sophisticated and as such should be treated no different to a laptop computer when it comes to mobile device management. Just like their laptop big brothers mobile devices and smart phones can access the internet/intranet, carry large amounts of corporate data, send and receive email and run sophisticated applications. Add this to the fact that most mobile devices under normal working conditions will do this remotely and wirelessly and are subject to loss or theft, even more so than laptops. The result is you should have a device management policy and supporting infrastructure.
As a minimum organisations should be looking at policy and procedures to encompass the following;
User handover documentation
Software and hardware configuration management
Backup policy
Settings management
Training and support material
Password policy management
Swap out procedure
Device addition/removal procedure
In life support
The above requirements can either be handled manually or by device management software. Device management software enables IT administrators to capture the asset characteristics, configure settings and security policies of mobile devices, and update or deploy new applications with minimal interruption to the user, dramatically reducing the cost of deploying and managing devices.
Let’s take look at each of the above elements;
User Handover documentation
It is important that the users of any company issued mobile device take care of these in a diligent manner. Therefore when handing over a device to an employee, it ‘s important to ensure that they agree to a set of usage terms and conditions. This could include when and how the device is to be used and any limitations as to it use (e.g. internet policy) and any liability the employee faces if these terms are broken. Certain companies have insisted that if the unit is maliciously destroyed then the employee is liable for the cost of replacement. Careful consideration must also be given to any health and safety aspects of using mobile devices especially in moving vehicles.
Software/Hardware configuration management
The mobile device will invariably be configured for groups of users, the software and settings need to be set up on each device, therefore a documented record needs to be kept as to how to set up the device and what applications are active on the device and what applications are to be disabled. This process can also be automated with mobile deployment software as described in an earlier paragraph.
Backup policy
Mobile devices are capable of holding large amounts of corporate data therefore if information is to reside on these devices then a backup policy should be considered.
Settings Management
Once the mobile device is ‘in life’ should the device require additional applications loaded or the device looses its settings a methodology needs to be in place to quickly restore them.
Training and support material
If mobile devices are being provided to field workers then careful consideration should be given on training the users to use the applications properly and, if necessary provide supporting documentation as reference material.
Password Policy Management
Mobile devices due to their size and proliferation are potentially more prone to theft than laptops as a result of this a password policy is extremely important. Third party applications are available which will wipe the mobile device ‘clean’ should the power on password be entered incorrectly after a certain number of times, these should be considered for confidential information applications. Consideration should also be given to the impact certain password policies may have on the usability and overall user experience of the mobile device (there is nothing more frustrating than having to enter a user id and password every few minutes because the device has gone into sleep mode).
Swap out procedure
Mobile devices are always deployed for compelling business reasons, once deployed the user becomes dependent on the device functioning properly. Therefore should the device fail, clear and effective procedures need to be in place to enable the user to continue working through either emergency paper backup or hot swap devices geographically located.
Device addition /removal procedure.
Should a new user need to be added to the enterprise as a mobile device user, then a simple process is required to ensure that this is undertaken efficiently. Equally if an employee leaves or their device is stolen a procedure is required to remove their unit from the enterprise and to remove any company specific data remotely, if this is not possible, then using power on passwords will provide and element of protection.
In life support
Mobile devices must be considered as extensions to your corporate enterprise and as a result of this your new mobile clients will need a user- friendly support desk to talk to should they have any issues with their devices or mobile software applications.
Conclusion
In my experience mobile device management is typically only considered as an after thought, this normally results in projects invariably going over budget. Device management is a key requirement in any field mobility project and provided the overhead is facilitated in your field mobility business case as part if the total cost of ownership there will be no project surprises.
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