THE WIRELESS DATA INDUSTRY, LIKE MOST emerging industries, has been plagued by hype and unfulfilled expectation. As is the case with any promise not kept, customers today lie somewhere between disappointment and hope when it comes to believing the original vision of leveraging corporate data when away from their desks for business advantage. Regardless of who is at fault, the word “wireless” probably has become the single biggest party turnoff today. This article sets out some issues based on experiences in the field about “doing it right” that might reset expectations and may even overdeliver on the promise of what mobile software and solutions can (and cannot) deliver to the enterprise today and in the future.

What created this situation in the first place? Two trends have been evident in enterprise software; one, the move from “out of the box” applications with a one-size-fits-all approach (primarily used for automation of manual processes) to universal personalization that helps end users make their applications the best it could be for them (primarily used to enable action and decision taking); two: the need to make software purchases pay off for themselves in today's market and to use new software tools to leverage existing IT/Telecom investments better. This evolution of enterprise software, particularly the subset that makes sense for mobile workers, can be traced as shown in the graph.

As the enterprise grapples with these trends, the end user (a.k.a. mobile employee) is morphing as well. He or she can today setup personal preferences on their Delta Airlines flight reservation system to receive an alert (on their wireless devices) if the flight is delayed. Now, when they come in to work, why do they have to deal with tools that are tethered to the desktop and with no ability to personalize them? Their expectations from their tools just changed!

It is not unreasonable for the end user to expect more from their enterprise software tools in the field today. Wireless data can actually deliver on (most of) these expectations. The gap between the user solving business problems in the field and their software tools on their desktops is often called the “Problem Resolution Gap.” This “gap” can be bridged through a combination of the ability to receive two-way alerts on which the user can take action and interact with the host application as well as the ability to self-define which information makes sense in the field (and how the user would like to receive it).

These new expectations mean greater emphasis on a pilot project and the need to demonstrate fundamental value from the product. So, what have been some observations over the course of several of these experiences? Three things jump out: • You own the problem even if it's not your fault • Tell the user what to expect • Help the customer shape their vision over the course of an engagement through evangelism. Here are some more detailed field notes:

Obsessive Focus on the End User
The most common approach to mobile interaction with desktop applications has been to take the desktop application and cram it down to the device. While this works for a large screen, it does not scale to situations where multiple devices are used and they all have small form factors, screen sizes, and resolution. The key is to ask the question, what information does the user want when away from the desk and how does he want it? The response is different for each user: personalization emerges as the answer. End users should be able to self-define what subset of enterprise data they'd like to receive wirelessly and how they would like to receive it (proactive alerts, pull on demand, and so on.) This gives them the ability to configure their mobile experience to adapt in real-time to changing business conditions without having to depend on an administrator or count on systems integration help. These personalization preferences form the “mobile workflow” for the user and helps leverage their applications in the field in a way that gives them an advantage.

Partner with data-savvy carriers, infrastructure providers and others to make the offering seamless
During the early stages of adoption of wireless data, the perception of “easy to navigate” in the eyes of the customer is key. The easiest way to make this happen is to provide them not only with the software product but the know how (technical or otherwise) to use it on different wireless devices and networks. Simple issues like making sure the end user has a good wireless signal in the area where she routinely uses the product or features that minimize the need to type large amounts of text into a phone can go a long way to ensure a smooth and positive experience.

Tie Usage Directly With Value
Another key factor to driving adoption is to tie usage of the product directly to value (lesser downtime, quicker resolution of issues, lesser lost revenue etc.) that can be quantified. In short, solution in, platform out! More importantly, does the customer perceive this to be a problem? For instance, if a robotic arm that produces capsules at a healthcare company (revenue producing operation) is down, a tool that can help reduce that downtime by 50% through mobile interaction with the enterprise application is “mission critical” for that organization. Solving acute business problems and coupling it with ease of use encourages adoption. Put another way, the product/service needs to answer the question “What is the pain I am addressing?” and “How big is that pain?” and answer it in a manner that is satisfactory, both in reality and in their opinion.

Plan Ahead
Before launching into the project, make sure the customer and the vendor have jointly addressed some key questions in a satisfactory manner. This lays the foundation for leveraging product features and functionality that can deliver value to the organization if used right.
• Why? : Which teams will benefit most? Who will drive the project? How well do they understand the requirements and expectations?
• What? : Which subset of the current application makes sense in the field? What if users could instantly take action on critical data?
• Who? : Is senior level support available? How will the rollout happen if the pilot is successful?
• When? : What is it costing the organization not to have this solution? What is the problem that's driving this project? What are the greatest risk factors?
• How? : Will the first users adopt devices and the new apps? How well understood are the new behaviors/processes that mobile applications will create?

What does it take to get it up and running?
In terms of cost, time, and human resources. The lesser the systems integration costs and time involved to get the product up and running the better, particularly since IT is so overworked (A CIO Magazine survey attests that there is a 50% or greater likelihood that a project will fail if it takes longer than 3 months to implement and realize early results).

Calibrate your users' expectations
Small screen devices are every bit as useful as large screen ones. Even so, they force new usage paradigms on unsuspecting users. Anticipate the resistance that accompanies a steep learning and the evolution of new behavior that accompanies emerging technology.

Technology adoption and the birth of Jesus
Christ could never have convinced the world himself that his birth was an event that was noteworthy. It took the three holy men (after experiencing it for themselves) to do that task. Similiarly, initial customers who experience value will share them with other customers to convince the community that it's indeed possible to leverage corporate data and the underlying enterprise systems easily and seamlessly in the field. Vendors need to bring together customers and help share learning and experiences in an open forum.