The fundamental premise of mobility for the enterprise is simple: Maximize
it's the return on investment for information technology assets by
keeping workers constantly connected to their mission critical systems.
In other words: "All this IT stuff is expensive, guys—let's keep
the bits flowing even though the employees may not be sitting at their
desks."
Consequently, Wide Area
Network (WAN) connectivity is being increasingly provided by some form
of radio technology. Indeed, without wireless networking, the potential
value of mobile devices like the Pocket PC is significantly reduced. Sun
Microsystems had it right all along: "The Network is the
computer."
Although wireless
networking enables our digital e-mail messages
and Web pages to move effortlessly through the air, human beings are
composed of more earth-bound atoms. Until scientists actually develop
"teleportation" technology such as that showcased in the
movie, "The Fly," human beings will always require a more
tangible means of transportation to get them from point A to point B on
business. Consequently, the business sector's demand for airline travel
continues to skyrocket. According to the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), the number of U.S. airline passengers increased from 600 million
in 1995 to 733 million in 2000. Things aren't slowing down anytime soon.
Virtual gridlock at the nation's busiest airport hubs threatens as the
FAA forecasts that there will be more than 100% growth in U.S. air
carrier demand within the next decade.
Road warriors in the air
The frequent business
traveler is the key demographic segment that each airline struggles to
serve in an increasingly competitive industry. IDC believes there are
over 43 million mobile workers in the America today. 8 to 10 million of
these workers travel on commercial airplanes routinely and generate
30–50% of all airline revenues. By all accounts, however, the airlines
are doing an abysmal job of satisfying the needs of these frequent
fliers. There are few industries where you can find so much recurring
demand but so little customer satisfaction. Virtually every frequent
flier has suffered cancelled flights, intolerably late departures,
cramped seating, and lost luggage. Check out the web sites at www.passengerrights.com
or www.airtravelcomplaints.com to get a
feel for the magnitude of the problem. James Fallows, in his superb new
book, Free Flight, aptly describes our current commercial airline
environment as "Airline Hell."
However, a Pocket PC
allows the savvy business traveler to maintain his productivity in all
phases of airline travel. Pocket PC users can access corporate Intranet
web sites, read and respond to their e-mail (complete with attachments),
and use custom applications designed to keep them connected on the road
to their back-end Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Sales Force
Automation (SFA) systems.
Meanwhile, the logistics
of commercial travel are becoming more complicated. The good news is
that mobile computers can make the complexity a lot more tolerable. A
wireless-enabled Pocket PC could be used by the mobile enterprise worker
during each of the four phases of airline travel:
- Making flight
reservations / purchasing tickets
- Commuting to and from
the airport
- Waiting at the airport
- Flying to his
destination
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