Empowering field-based employees is important to many midsized and enterprise organizations, and though many of the required productivity tools are available on devices such as smartphones and tablets, firing up a laptop and using a wider set of applications is still necessary at times.
In the past, this has been an expensive proposition. But companies have several communication options to help control costs if employees are working in areas with connectivity available to them.
With tethering, for example, field employees' phones or tablets broadcast a signal. These devices must have connectivity to the Web so they can pass along the gateway to another device, such as a laptop or non-3G or -4G phone. The number of devices that can simultaneously connect is limited based on the tethered hardware. And regardless of the number of consecutive attached devices, all those connected to this ad hoc network are limited by the total amount of bandwidth available to the host.
Many employees now have mobile hot spots, a boon for today's mobile users. I have been testing a 4G mobile hotspot by Clear. Speeds are nice, upwards of 10x1 at the peak, with 2x.5 near the slower end of the scale. I only carry four 802.x capable devices with me at any time; attaching all four simultaneously did not slow down the Clear box a bit.
Coverage in Orlando was great, fast, and low latency (with ping between 42ms and 88ms). My test in the middle of the Courtney Campbell Causeway (basically in the middle of Tampa Bay) was not successful, nor was I able to keep a consistent connection travelling at highway speeds between Tampa and Orlando. But when I was in the city itself or in a office, hotel, or restaurant, the device worked great. The cost is low, at $49 for the device and $49 a month for “unlimited” bandwidth.
Speaking of cellular service, are you still paying for separate services, such as digital navigation tools, from your provider? Don't forget to review the ever-growing menu of free or inexpensive apps available to employees. Waze provides voice-based directions and verbal feedback with the user (allowing for hands-free use), as well as real-time updates on police actions, traffic, and congestion, based on other users in your area. Waze is a cross between a social networking platform, traffic management and navigation tool, and mobile app. The price is right, as well: free.
Regardless of the budget available for your mobile workforce, you'll find a mix of services and devices to support your connectivity needs. Returns in increased sales, improved customer satisfaction, and enhanced employee productivity should outweigh the paltry costs presented by the new breed of devices and apps.
Corporate IT leaders should audit carrier agreements, test new products, and challenge historical approaches to mobile and remote users. Adhering to last year's status quo for functionality, price, and contract service level agreements (SLAs) guarantees a net loss for your IT budget expenditures -- and your organization's field employees. Challenge your budget expenditures and explore new technologies.
It is, after all, our first and most important job as IT professionals.
— Michael Starnes, CEO of Orlando-based Starnes Consulting, has been in the technology business for more than 20 years.
Yes, I'm right there with you now, @magneticnorth! However, I should not complain. I recall a vacation many years ago -- another freelance story, so vacations were really a time when I worked in a different location! My laptop broke, so I spent a lot of my time at the East Hampton Library (which doesn't have very late hours), working to meet client deadlines during its limited operating hours. Fortunately, I'd lightened my assignment load, so this challenge only lasted for a few days of vacation. After that, I carried a clunkier backup laptop just in case... and of course, I never needed it!
@Alison - Annoying indeed. I lived for about a year with just one hotspot, but I reached my breaking point when a client needed something I couldn't give because of the bad signal. I knew I just had to spend a little more for another connection.
@Alison "due to the terrific cellular network!" and to your own sense of responsibility and dedication to deadlines. For many people, an emergency situation like tht would serve as an excuse that they would expect to have accepted.
My home in Florida is odd, too. My home office - which is part of an addition - has terrible cell phone clarity. I can hear perfectly but apparently the outgoing call is very muffled. When we had our four-hurricane year, cell phone service was disrupted but I was amazed at how quickly it was back up and running. At the time, I was a freelancer and had an extremely tight deadline. Although I was working in different geographies as we headed north to escape the storm, I managed to stay in contact with the client, file the white paper, and meet the deadline due to the terrific cellular network!
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Throughout their generations, medical records have promised us lowered costs, increased efficiency, and generally better healthcare. However, despite untold dollars and the efforts of some very smart people, we've yet to realize a fully electronic medical record.
When one of my team members recently responded to network-down call at a client's home office, he quickly established, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the edge device -- a customer premise equipment (CPE) router -- had been compromised. Regaining control of the edge router proved difficult. A neighbor who was within range of the 802.11n wireless radio was actively hacking the router, overpowering the field tech with password resets in real time. In order to regain control of the network, the tech had to remove the antennas, allowing for LAN access only to the routing edge, and effectively cutting off the hack by cutting off his basic access.
This year's opening keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) broke the mold: Dr. Paul Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm, delivered the first non-Microsoft presentation in a dozen years. Though Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer did make an appearance, the presentation was dominated by a core technology for release by Qualcomm this year.
New tools like laptops, tablets, smartphone, and wireless connectivity let us work from San Diego to Katmandu, and anywhere in between. But time management remains a problem.
A survey by JD Powers found that customer interest in product features is lessening as phones evolve. Rather than features, price is driving purchases, and that change could have a dramatic impact on how IT departments secure these devices.
A combination of an announcement by DT and a Pew survey is showing us what the next-gen Internet may look like, and why. The demand for flexible services, created by rewired, iPhoned, social brains, combines with cloud and optical technology to create something totally new!
Microsoft's buy of Skype could revitalize Phone 7, give Microsoft a social, gaming, and collaborative strategy, and spell the end for old-fashioned telco voice. It will also certainly give Google a headache in its Voice, Chat, and even Android strategy!
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Subsidized handsets, rather than locked handsets, should be the focus of regulators. We're not getting good deals, not fostering innovation, and weakening our power as buyers.
Showing results is the best way to win over social business doubters, according to Mary Maida, Medtronic lead information solutions manager. Internet Evolution's Mitch Wagner interviewed Maida at the E2 Innovate conference.
Wells Fargo uses social software to replace email chains and help its sales team collaborate more effectively to land deals, according to Kelli Carlson-Jagersma, VP Collaboration Strategy for Wells Fargo. Mitch Wagner spoke with Carlson-Jagersma at the E2Innovate conference
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
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