Mobile Computing- 2006 Highlights and what to expect in 2007

The most important thing to happen in enterprise mobile computing in 2006 had nothing to do with a specific product or technology. Instead, in my humble opinion, the most important development in the mobile market is Motorola’s purchase of Symbol Technologies. This is a watershed event in the industry and signifies a true coming of age of mobile computing and the AIDC industry. Motorola’s arrival in this market is an indicator that mobile computing and to a lesser extent AIDC (bar code and RFID) have become mainstream technologies for the enterprise.

What it means for the industry is that there is a new sheriff in town and a lot of things are going to change. We will see significant consolidation in the sector over the next 12 months. Symbol’s historically smaller and/or weaker competitors, such as Intermec, Psion Teklogix, LXE, PSC and many others struggled to keep up with Symbol R&D, product development and price points. That struggle is now going to be unwinnable unless these other companies find their own tier one technology company to merge with. Motorola will bring new technology, lower price points, better form factors and all at a blistering pace when compared to the historical cycles in this sector.

I suspect Intermec will be the first to get acquired. The have a solid customer sector in manufacturing and distribution, a descent product line and an attractive intelletual portfolio (particularly around RFID). If combined with the right player they are the closest thing to a true competitor that Symbol. Plus they are making all of the usual indications (budget cuts, lots of press releases, etc.) that say aren’t I cute, come buy me.

On the product and technology front it is safe to say that 2006 was officially the year of Windows Mobile. For the first time in AccuCode company history (12 years) we shipped more Windows Mobile devices than DOS. That’s right, until 2006 the number one operating system for enterprise mobile users was DOS. Why? Because the most popular way to connect mobile users to enterprise applications has always been a Telnet session and well I don’t need the horse power of Windows Mobile to run a good VT220 client. Even in the Windows Mobile plateforms the number one application is still a Telnet client. Thanks Microsoft, it now takes 64MB of RAM and a 450 MHz processor to run my 15 year old Telnet application.

Ok that is a little harsh. Windows Mobile is going to add a lot of new capabilities for the enterprise user. Probably the most intersting will be voice enabling mobile computing applications in all areas. The cost and performance of voice input and voice output technologies has improved tremendously in the past several years. With the horse power of the new devices you will see voice starting to play a more prominate role in 2007 and forward.

Another big development in mobile market this year were the wide area networks. Verizon, Spint/Nextel, Cingular and the like have invested millions on the hope that the enterprise users really wants to be connected outside of the four walls. I think its a safe bet that they do. Adoption of mobile computing for field sales, field service and inspection applications is growing rapidly. The cost for the wide area connectivity is still high and the coverage is still inconsistant. If you are headed into one of these projects my best recommendation is to pick a hardware platform that will allow you to use multiple network providers depending on what area of the country/world you are in. This is also good investment protection to make sure you don’t have to replace an entire mobile platform just because your network provider has changed standards or communication protocals.

Next up RFID! Where are we at and where are we going.

Kevin Price
AccuCode

Adapt, Adopt, Thrive, or get Kicked in the Butt

I hit a nerve. Good thing I like to argue. Mom always said I should have been a lawyer. We are going to get into Software as a Service again, because the feedback I received was interesting, to say the least… People are falling rather neatly into groups: I call it Adapt, Adopt, Thrive, or get Kicked in the Butt.

Wow, talk about arguments… Sorry to all the old school, traditional technology companies that don’t want to hear the truth, but putting your head in the sand does not make a disruptive force go away. It just continues to sweep along and instead of punching you in the nose, it kicks you in the butt. Adapt, Adopt, Thrive. These folks are still trying to figure out if they even need to adapt. Enjoy your last sweet taste of success.

IT/IS folks are a mixed bag. New technology is cool, SaaS can make their lives much easier, but as companies adopt SaaS solutions, they will not need as much of an internal IT/IS presence. Jobs are going to be lost. This has already happened to some extent with the rise of the outsourced IT/IS staff. Someone that comes in for a half-day on Fridays. This trend will continue and I think that these folks see this. They are adapting, but finding their place and adopting is still a work in process. Some have found a way to thrive. IT/IS folks still have a place in a SaaS world, and we need them. In fact if you are good, come work for us. Denver is a beautiful place to live. (I’m serious about this, we are growing fast.)

SaaS customers or prospective customers are excited. They are looking forward to a new way of dealing with software. The whole process of buying software, buying servers, maintaining everything, testing updates, etc., it was all a massive headache. It took them away from their real reason for having a business – To satisfy a need and make money. Customers are past adapting, that was easy, the old way of dealing with software stunk. They want to adopt if they can find the right product, but that is more my problem then theirs… What I would give for more visibility! Once they find the product that works for them, and this may not be the first one they try, (beauty of an On-Demand subscription instead of a huge up-front purchase), then they thrive. They sell more product, they make more money, they hire more employees, they simply thrive!

Who are you, and where are you at? Are you Adapting, Adopting, Thriving? Hopefully you are one of the three. That means you are at least trying. The alternative is the kick in the butt, and that simply hurts.

Keep the feedback coming.

Kevin Reynolds
Velocity Inventory™