Mobile Software
Today's workforces thrive with access to data in the their hands, wherever they work.
Why Deploy Mobile Platforms - The Business Case
Working with industry leaders for more than 15 years, Syclo has enabled organizations to streamline key business practices that make the difference between on budget or over budget. The keys to successful mobile deployments are three recognized common pillars:
- Business Processes and Procedures Based on Best Practices
- World-class Enterprise Systems
- A Breadth & Depth of Timely, Accurate Data
You have likely already invested in leading enterprise applications to improve workflow, production, distribution, asset management, inventory, facilities management and sales. Similarly, your business processes may be targeted, clearly defined and measurable. Yet something is missing - and that is the third pillar of data.
Today there exists an enormous information gap between critical enterprise systems and employees, who interface with applications via paper forms or phone. While companies have traditionally relied on paperwork to collect data, there are many inherent flaws in paperwork that make it expensive, inaccurate, outdated - or altogether too costly.
A proven best practice for exponentially increasing the quality and quantity of data populating enterprise systems is to deploy mobile technology to enable the timely, accurate communication of data between backend systems and workers at the point of performance. More, better data feeds your enterprise systems, which drive your business processes. In addition to gaining invaluable visibility into key business processes, companies that have deployed Syclo's mobile solutions also report significant gains in productivity, lower operating costs and higher levels of customer satisfaction.
How Mobile Technology Works
To facilitate the communication of data between enterprise applications and workers using mobile devices, there are four major components to every mobile project:Enterprise System(s)
Your enterprise applications store valuable data, such as customer information, work orders, identification numbers, inventories, financials, payroll information and more.Whether your applications are used to manage Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationships (CRM), Enterprise Assets (EAM), Supply Chain (SCM), Warehouses, Fleets, Facilities, Financials or your Field Service, vital information resides on databases that will be communicated out to employees via a mobile device, mobile application and wireless networks.
Mobile Devices
Mobile devices are the physical hardware that users take with them in the field; they include PDAs (i.e. Pocket PC, RIM Blackberry, etc.), tablet PCs, and laptops, which act as "digital clipboards"; for field personnel. Mobile devices come in different flavors to meet the needs of diverse mobile workers. Whether a ruggedized device, a larger Tablet PC or a sleek RIM Blackberry, devices range in size, weight, screen size, memory and processing capacity, battery life, price and more. Devices also may offer protection in layers of heat-, water-, and shock-resistant plastic and can also be certified around hazardous or flammable materials.Mobile Software
Mobile software for enterprise deployments include an end user interface that resides on the device, also referred to as the "Client"; as well as a mobile server, which acts as an interpreter between the enterprise applications and the mobile client.The Mobile Client provides users with the ability to access and update data such as work orders, catalogs, spec sheets, inventory data, customer information, order forms and more. Users navigate and update the mobile application using the device's keypad or stylus pen.
Mobile software not only facilitates data collection and transfer, but actually increases other aspects of worker productivity - such as the ability to access timely information and historic data to make better on-the-spot decisions. Where some of the greatest ROI is realized is when the Mobile Application or Client does something paper forms can never do – enforce business rules. Data capture standards are enforced through the mobile application, and workers may be lead through an intuitive step-by-step process or series of screens and prompts that dynamically change according to their previous entries.
The mobile server also manages additional aspects of communication between the device and the backend systems, including ensuring the correct information is communicated out to the field, and updates received are appropriately managed.
Wireless Networks
Mobile devices require a means to send and receive mobile application updates. While some operations can wait until the end of shift for workers to return their devices to docking cradles, a majority choose to utilize a wireless network connection to enable communication on an ongoing or on-demand basis.While there are numerous wireless networks – the main difference is whether they are local area (LAN) – meaning deployed within a specific facility, structure or campus area – or else a wide area (WAN) network, meaning distributed in a large geographic area (examples include networks of cellular carriers and may include formats such as GPRS, GSM, etc.). An important differentiator between WLAN and WWAN networks is cost. WWAN will incur costs from the cellular network carriers according to the amount of time a user is connected to the network or the amount of data sent over the network (this is why data compression is an important feature of a mobile server).
Many organizations control costs by having their workers only connect occasionally and just long enough to exchange data. In addition, because network connectivity is not fail-safe, there are times when workers will need to work offline, or in a disconnected fashion. The Mobile Client application should be robust enough to allow workers to store, access and perform all required computing tasks on mobile devices until a wireless network connection becomes available.
Ideally, your mobile solution should make it possible to switch easily between "always on"; wide area wireless, WLAN and offline mode in a transparent fashion that will not disrupt a worker's productivity.