8 March 2007

The launch of Exchange Server 2007 later this year will make it easier still to incorporate the mobile workforce into company-wide collaboration. Louis Jouanny from Fujitsu Siemens Computers (FSC), talked to OnWindows.com about the mobile end of the equation.

What are the key benefits that Windows Mobile and Windows Embedded devices can offer a business?

FSC is endorsing Windows Mobile 5.0 as it enables our customers to send and receive wireless emails using push technology in a secured standard way without the need for any additional dedicated infrastructure. This is a big benefit to our business customers as users and technical staff don't need to be trained in using Windows Mobile 5.0. It uses familiar software such as Microsoft Outlook which is what the users and technical staff use on their desktop PCs in their daily lives.

How should a business assess its mobile needs?

Businesses must remember that one device does not fit all business requirements. The customer needs to investigate the user profile, looking at the needs of the user and the reaction they need to have. From this a business can determine the level of access the user needs and the sort of connectivity they require and then can match the software and device to these requirements.

This also means that one user could end-up with a couple of devices for his or her daily usage and a combination of handheld and notebook or Tablet PC is completely possible. There is no miracle - it's simply fitting the right tool to the profile of the user.

Where does a company get back its investment?

If a decision maker using the mobile device makes a decision at the right time, not waiting for when he/she gets back to the office, the impact of this can be huge on possible revenue. An obvious key benefit of mobility technology is that during dead times in the working day, for example travelling by train to a meeting, mobility devices enable an employee to be active in decision-making during this period - this is the positive aspect of balancing work and increasing productivity in the time allocated for work. The return on investment (ROI) of using mobility technology can then be numerically calculated. ROI can also be monitored through customer satisfaction, as customers are served better, faster and more personally. The flexibility offered by mobility is another positive aspect for users. Being able to balance their workloads and hours more easily. This leads also to better work and sometime more work from the user. So ROI can be a matter of days or months but in any case it is under two years for the most sophisticated application. If over two years you may have the wrong solution for the given problem.

Although mobile computing gives a productivity gain, businesses must be aware of the fact that some countries have started monitoring and applying legal rules on working hours outside the office. Work/life balance can be affected negatively - I always say that the good news of mobility technology is that you'll always be connected but the bad news is that you'll always be connected. As with mobile phone now, people take it for granted that they can reach you anytime on your mobile device. This can have negative effects if not managed in the right way. It is a management behaviour issue. Being connected in real time is a challenge; it can give employees the possibility of a better work/life balance but it has to be managed effectively to be successful.

How can businesses minimise the risks and costs associated with security and out of office support?

At FSC, we don't believe in revolutionary mobility but in evolutionary mobility. We believe that a business should build on its existing infrastructure to make it available outside of the building. New systems can only work for a small group, for example a board of directors might be equipped with a non-standard email solution and the members of the board could be trained and supported specifically. If you were to take this cost and multiply it by 500 or 1000 for all employees then the costs of training and support would be huge!

The key to mobility is not the technology but the user. Building on existing infrastructures makes it easier for the user to continue their job as familiarity of applications is maintained, resulting in support overheads and training requirements being significantly reduced. That's why we like Windows Mobile 5.0 as it uses software applications familiar to the user and the supporting teams.

The main business concerns surrounding mobile should be connectivity and security. A business needs a back-up gateway to ensure access and back-up data to cover security. We are fully aware of business fears in terms of access to confidential business information. From a practical standpoint, FSC has already implemented security solutions for its own use, as well as for customers and so we can support businesses to open their systems to the outside world in a secure way. Our demonstrated experience and expertise are helping to remove fears over security end-to-end, both through our service offering and product features and options, such as finger print readers on notebooks.

What's the potential of HSDPA and UMTS?

The higher speed of telecommunication is a great advantage as you can connect more easily and run applications you couldn't before. We estimate that the real throughput improvement is at least on a scale of five for each of these technologies compared to the previous one. There is now a wider choice of operators using this technology and market competitiveness is increasing. As a result, many operators are offering the business customer higher speeds at the same costs. We have a full range of products available that use HSDPA or UMTS embedded technology, as well as wi-fi and bluetooth. We have also announced and are shipping UMTS/HSDPA embedded notebooks to cover heavy usages of data transfer.

What advice would you give to businesses about the balance between quality and cost in mobile devices?

My question is: how much cost do you put on down time? Without a good quality device, the benefits of mobile computing will be restricted. Windows Mobile 5.0 is already a low cost alternative to be connected. To make it lower by gambling on the device means increasing the chance of failure for an entire mobility strategy within a business. How much would you really gain in the total cost of ownership (TCO) from using a poor quality device? As an average, if we say that the hardware is usually 20-50% of the TCO dependent on device required with the rest made up from the cost of telecommunication, training, IT and support infrastructures, etc. Choosing a poor quality device would only probably account for 2-5% of reducing the TCO as a poor quality device would mean an increase in the cost of repair and support, which would reduce user ability to use the device and therefore take away the benefits of mobility technology!

Louis Jouanny heads the Domain Marketing Mobility group at Fujitsu Siemens Computers EMEA headquarters and has over 20 years experience in the mobile PC market.

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