MobileDataForce Blog

How HealthIT Solutions Help Cut Healthcare Costs

2011-07-27T17:34:00.000-06:00

After working on mobile projects and solutions for 10+ years, we know the benefit of introducing mobile technology into the workplace. Because savings and changes in efficiency can be so dramatic, we want to share the positive experiences our clients are experiences.

In this case, customer Home Again continues to the unfold the different ways using FieldSync Assisted Care™ is helping them reduce costs while continuing to deliver high standards of care to their residents.

Heather D, who operates Home Again explained how she keeps a nurse on call 24 hours a days at an hourly rate of $3.00. However, if that nurse needs to visit the facility for any reason, that rate escalates to $20.00 /hour. That's a huge difference!

In a recent example of how FieldSync Assisted Care™ helps cut costs, an incident concurred with a resident that resulted in an injury. The nurse was able to log into the system, read the incident report and view treatment details to determine a visit was not required. Without that level of detail being available at the point-of-decision, she would have made that visit, passing along an additional $17.00 /hour expense to the billing system.

In addition to high costs, our healthcare system often suffers from doctors, nurses and other caregivers not having accurate patient data when and where they need it. Health IT initiatives, which include products like FieldSync Assisted Care™ and FieldSync Rx™ are all designed to bring data together to eliminate potentially life-saving mistakes and help bring down costs.

We will continue to showcase how clients are using mobile and web-based app to increase efficiencies. To start talking about how mobile technology can make a difference in your workplace, please contact our mobile specialists to discuss your needs.

208-284-1200

www.mobiledataforce.com

5 Questions - Are You Ready to Mobilize Your Forms?

2011-07-06T15:21:00.000-06:00

Have you been thinking about how a mobile app might help your business? If you have staff in the field servicing customers, doing inspections, delivering product or completing service tickets, it might be the right time to abandon your aging paper based system. But is now the right time?

Like any business investment, careful consideration about the different possibilities, options and costs must be thought out. Every business is different. So how do you know if mobile technology is right for you? Here are 5 questions to consider. If you answer YES to most of them, you should be thinking about replacing your paper-based forms with mobile forms!

1. Do You Have More Than Five (5) Mobile Workers?
Our 10+ years in the mobile industry show the benefits of a mobile solution is best realized with 5 or more users in the field. So, even a small businesses can reap the rewards just like companies such as UPS, FedEx or Schwan's.

2. Do Your Forms Come Back Incomplete, Improperly Filled Out or Difficult to Read?
This is the biggest headache associated with paper forms. They often come back incomplete, with data in the wrong place or with handwriting that is simply unreadable. This takes time to resolve, often by placing a phone call to ask the employee to explain their scribblings. With mobile forms, built-in rules can make sure the data is complete, is in the right place and handwriting is not a factor. What's the benefit: Time Savings and better data!

3. Do You Manually Enter Form Data into A Database or System?
Data entry is never fun! What's worse is when it's based on incoming data that may not be accurate or read properly. As the saying goes, "Garbage In, Garbage Out". Using mobile forms, data entry is history because the incoming data is automatically fed into your system where it can be immediately used for analysis, reporting, billing, etc. What's the benefit: HUGE time savings, and admin staff can focus on other tasks!

4. Are You Struggling to Respond to Situations Fast Enough?
Mobile forms allow workers to transmit the information they collect immediately! This means when things go a little off-track, you have actionable information within minutes, not 8, 15, 24 or ? hours later when the data gets entered. Communication gaps are closed, customers get better service and hi-priority situations are resolved faster with less negative impact. What's the benefit: Better customer service, fewer high-impact emergencies.

5. Would You Like to Shorten Billing Cycles or Other Processes that Cause Delays Due to Data Entry?
In a best case scenario, hand-written forms are entered the day after they are completed. However, we've seen businesses wait weeks to get that data entered. This lengthens business processes, billing cycles and can put management out of touch with what's happening outside the office. Again, mobile forms bring data in faster and are not effected by other high-priority tasks or employees who are sick or on vacation. What's the benefit: Process business actions faster, shorten billing cycles, stay in tune with what's happening in the field.

Well, how did you do? If you answered YES to 3 or more, it's time to rethink those paper forms. Mobile forms have many benefits that we would like to talk with you about. If you'd like to explore mobilizing your paper-based forms, we have a simple form on our web page where you can tell us about your needs. Here is the URL: http://www.mobiledataforce.com/project_form.php

Thanks for reading!

Tim Cerami
Information Architect @ MobileDataforce, Inc.
www.mobiledataforce.com - 208-384-1200

Facebook Focuses on HTML5 in 2011 - Good for Social Media - Not Good for the Enterprise

2011-06-23T11:32:00.001-06:00

In the blog on Forbes, “Facebook: Our Focus in 2011 Is On Mobile, HTML5” (link at the end of this blog), it is easy to see why mobility is not only a focus for Facebook, but also for practically every business. However, what is good for Facebook, other social media companies, publications, and gaming companies is not likely the best thing for your company – except for similar functions like connecting and communicating with your customers and community. Mobile is the fastest growing part of Facebook’s network and mobile users are twice as active as desktop users. These are market realities in the consumer market. Some meaningful questions for business users are “Is mobility relevant to our business?”, “If mobility is important in our business, do we face similar challenges as Facebook?”, and “If our challenges are not the same, is HTML5 worth the investment today?” With almost 2 decades of enterprise technology experience under practically every environment and major tech segment, I believe that mobility today is almost certainly relevant to your company, as it delivers cost savings, improved productivity/efficiency, and various controls and risk mitigation – exactly that which enterprise technology should provide to one extent or another.

Where the confusion starts and understanding of requirements often breakdown is in understanding the challenges. Facebook is a) a social media provider and b) spending millions (maybe 10s of millions) of dollars to evaluate *if* HTML5 will be the answer to their problems. So, if you are a social media company looking for a mobile platform, you can probably stop reading here. The needs of “enterprise” apps is very different. To quote the blogger, Oliver Chiang, quoting Bret Taylor, CTO of Facebook, “… Apple and Google could do more to ‘close the gap’ between what a native application on their respective smartphones can do and what an HTML5 app on those devices can do. One example is Apple allowing HTML5 apps to also access the accelerometer (which allows for motion and directional input) on the iPhone.” My first reaction is, “Yes, there is a gap.” My second reaction, “What motivation do Apple and Google have for abandoning the capabilities of their respective OS in delivering their users an exceptional experience – let alone abandoning in part or in total the revenue streams and appeal of app stores?” Regardless, HTML5 is not proven as a viable alternative for most business processes, is still in its infancy in the consumer market (making it a good bit further away from being ready for the enterprise), and help doesn’t seem likely from the device and OS camps.

The nuggets I took away reinforce the strategy we see among our customers leading the charge in enterprise mobility.

Enterprise Platform, Not Just a Mobile Platform: Anyone who has ever had to work with a web form or manage employees in the field, knows that lost time, lost data, and limited access to data cost money and kill customer service and productivity. Mobile web is rarely even a consideration. Even an app built on web services can fail to meet enterprise requirements.
Right Device for the Job: Yes, we love the power and capabilities of iPhone, Android phones, and their tablet siblings, but try to process hundreds of barcodes or RFID tagged items on these devices and you’ll likely be looking for a job at Facebook. Enterprise mobility is about converting some operation or process into software or delivering software and capabilities to support operations or processes. If you've done your job in selecting a Mobile Enterprise Application Platform (MEAP) that will support today and in the future the devices/OS appropriate to the task, then you can take advantage of all the native power and glory of the leading mobile platforms and device manufacturers. There is no one-size fits all mobile solution – and you wouldn't want it that way. That is the way it was prior to iPhone, Android phones, and the reemergence of the tablet! Different great devices one of the main reasons that mobility is exploding globally. Different jobs require specialized tools.
AppStore Revenue Share is Not a Factor: You can argue that iOS (Apple) limits what a developer can do in building an application and accessing certain capabilities of those devices, but, hey, that is Apple’s business – sell and support great hardware (and primarily to consumers), often with their own tools (for which they charge money). Facebook, gaming companies, publications, and other mobile app companies pay 30% of their revenue to the AppStore. Folks – this is a BIG motivator driving Facebook's investment in trying to break free of the AppStore with a web-based app (HTML5). The enterprise is under no such obligation. Yes, there are a variety of different financial considerations that would inform your purchasing decision, but a revenue share is not one of them. Again, if your enterprise mobile app is not required to be deployed to thousands (even 10s or 100s of thousands) of users on different devices that you do not own, manage, or control, then you are completely free to evaluate capabilities of mobile web vs native app head to head on their own merits.

There is a lot of confusion in the mobile space today, especially the mobile enterprise space, but don’t avoid investing in a quality mobile enterprise application platform and quality mobile apps. If you are early in your mobile deployments the MVP (mobile value proposition) is so compelling that you simply can’t wait. It is costing your organization hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars annually while you wait for the rapidly changing mobile market to settle down. The average ROI among our customers is less than 6 months. A hosted solution can provide immediate ROI. Yes, you will be asked to support Windows Mobile, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, etc. in your environment. And the list will change and grow with Windows Phone, Symbian, WebOS, and who knows what over the next several years. But will you be asked to deploy the same app across every platform? In most cases, the answer is, No. The guys in the warehouse or doing deliveries are likely doing very different functions with very different needs than your sales and service team. The guys maintaining your fleet require something very different from your records management staff. So “build once, deploy to many” is partly an enterprise myth. Yes, there is a cost of maintaining the same app for 2 platforms (e.g. Windows Mobile and iOS), but it is miniscule compared to a) the cost savings and other benefits of mobilizing your workforce and b) the overall cost of mobile initiatives. And if you've selected a capable mobile app platform, such as PointSync, the management will be that much less.

No one knows your business better than you. Have us help you put together for your business a Return on Investment (ROI) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculation. If you haven’t yet been burned by the endless hours spent developing, supporting, modifying, and testing the data synchronization of your mobile solutions, please don’t’ start digging that hole before you talk to us and have us help you build your use case for a true mobile enterprise application platform and apps. You, your mobile workers, and your CFO will all thank you. And if you have been burned, we’ll show you a way to salvage your situation in the most timely and cost-effective way possible. If Facebook figures it all out, believe that they (and others) will announce it to the world and you’ll be happy that they *and not you* invested in HTML5 to attempt to meet your enterprise needs.

http://blogs.forbes.com/mobiledia/2011/06/17/facebook-aims-to-bypass-apple-become-big-mobile-player/

posted by David Cohen
CEO @ MobileDatatForce

The Importance of Dashboards in Mobile Solutions

2011-06-13T15:12:00.001-06:00

Dashboards have been around for years. We've grown to expect them in cars, planes and other forms for transportation. Did you ever think that almost everything we operate has some form of dashboard? Things like kitchen ovens, washing machines, televisions and many other household items have some form of screen-based or physical (knobs, levers & buttons) dashboard.

Dashboards, regardless of how simple, are generally designed for two purposes. One, to help you operate the item, and two, alert you when something important has occurred. So why does a mobile software company find the topic of dashboards important enough to write about? Here's why:

Mobile workers are often face-to-face with critical events and activities. They see empty store shelves, interact directly with patients, take orders on the fly and otherwise react to their environment. In many cases, what they witness in the field requires swift action from another person in the office. That's where the dashboard comes in. When the field person takes certain actions, like creating an incident report or generating an urgent order on their device, that information can appear on the dashboard where it can be responded to quickly. For more vital situations, an email or TXT message could also be sent.

We live in a time where people expect instant communication, especially when something happens that needs quick and careful attention. Try as we may to avoid them, unexpected situations happen. To mitigate the risks associated with the "unexpected", FieldSync solutions like Rx, Supported Living, Structural Data, and Automotive all include a dashboard interface. We also consult clients on including a dashboard into their custom mobile solutions.

Our dashboard design is a great example of how we're integrating new design concepts that help our mobile solutions deliver better customer service, increase productivity and improve communications.

by Tim Cerami
Information Architect @ MobileDataForce/FieldSync Mobile Solutions

3 Reasons We Need Rugged Android Devices

2011-06-09T12:05:00.000-06:00

For many of our customers who have incorporated a mobile solution into their business operations, robust and rugged handheld devices are an absolute must. They need devices that can be drop-kicked across a warehouse floor, resist water sprayed directly on them or are completely sealed from dust, oil and other contaminants. Companies like PSION | Teklogix, Intermec, Motorola (formerly Symbol) and DataLogic are industry leaders in this technology field and have such devices available if you're willing to shell out $1000 or more per unit.

While these devices are stellar in their ability to take a licking, they all continue to run on the aging Windows Mobile operating system. As a partner with some of these manufactures, we know they're considering releasing Android-base devices. We'd like to see them move quickly and get them to market...and here are three reasons why:

Soon Please...

The writing is on the wall! The industry has changed at a frighteningly fast pace. In the last three years, Android and iPhone devices have overtaken the market by reinventing how mobile devices work. Windows Mobile remains entrenched in a usage model that was valid in the middle of the last decade. In 2011, the stylus is no longer an option...devices are finger-driven.
Windows Mobile smartphones have all but vanished. If a mobile app is designed for a person doing deliveries on a rugged device running Windows Mobile, an account manager who also uses the app for account and inventory lookups will need a Windows Mobile device as well. Finding a small, inexpensive Windows Mobile smartphone is now very difficult, making it hard to build the app once and have it transition easily between different types of mobile workers and devices.
Deploy now, fill the holes later. While Windows Mobile may be a more enterprise-ready operating system due to a longer history in the market, that has not stopped executives, managers and other employees from using their Android and iPhone devices for business purposes. The cycle has always been to push the technology into the enterprise, figure out where the holes are, then build ways to fix those issues. How about this? Let's push to get Android into enterprise scenarios now, then resolve the sync and management issues with products like PointSync Professional!

As software developers, we hedge our bets on the most widely accepted platforms. Right now, Android owns the biggest share of the mobile platform war. According to industry studies, Android will grow to own 50% of the market by 2012! In the near future, we'd like to see the same app we write for an account executive packing a Droid Pro also work on a high-end rugged device. Who will step to the plate first? Whoever it is, we hope it happens soon.

Tim Cerami
Information Architect @ MobileDataForce

Adventures in Building a Sync Tool...

2011-05-27T11:34:00.000-06:00

Back in 2008, we wrote a super cool mobile app that helps young hemophilia patients track bleed-events that get shared with their doctors and nurses. Back then, the most popular smart phones ran Windows Mobile, so it was written for that platform. The foundation of the solution was our PointSync Pro Mobile Platform.

Fast forward to 2010...MobileDataForce was asked to make an iPhone version of the application because many of the patients had started carrying iPhone's as their device of choice. This presented an issue, because at that time PointSync did not support synchronization and management tasks for anything but Windows Mobile devices.

To solve this, MDF engineers decided to build a sync tool from scratch, using Web Services to synchronize patient events from the iPhone to the database in the cloud. They started out by building the solution with very basic requirements, which consisted of only data synchronization. At completion of this first phase, they were 400 hours and $25,000 into it.

As patients began using it, it became evident that some critical pieces of the solution were missing. For example, when a sync issue came up, there were no auditing or troubleshooting tools to help support staff diagnose and resolve the problem. MDF engineers went back to the drawing board and added basic troubleshooting to the solution, causing the overall cost to rise far beyond the original expectations. In the end, only 10% of the functionality found in PointSync was incorporated into this custom sync solution.

With over 500,000 lines of code and a strong history since 2005, PointSync Pro 2.5 (and higher) now supports iPhone devices. In fact, we now support iPhone, Android AND BlackBerry devices. If you're considering building your own sync technology for your mobile enterprise solution, carefully consider everything it should do. Your list should include:

Data synchronization and application/file deployment
Cross-platform support for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile
Support for end-to-end data encryption
Allow mobile workers to work in a disconnected mode when connectivity is unavailable
Logging and auditing to help diagnose and resolve technical issues
Robust integration to databases (SQL Server, MySQL, DB2, SQL Anywhere) and third party systems
An administrative interface to manage the entire system

At the end of the day, our experience has proven that there's no reason to re-invent this wheel. PointSync is ready to bolt into your environment right now to provide these necessary functions. If you need assistance building your mobile application as well, we can help with that too.

For more information on PointSync, please contact our sales team at (208) 384-1200 or visit the MobileDataForce website at www.mobiledataforce.com or the PointSync website atwww.pointsync.com.

Mobility in the Light of Tragedy...

2011-05-24T13:31:00.000-06:00

Wow, can mother nature deliver a blow or what? Looking at the destruction caused by the F4-F5 twister that roared through Joplin, MS shows the stark reality that in just minutes, a reset button can set back decades of development.

More devastating is the loss of human life, personal injury, loss of property and the despair many feel in seeing what they've built and labored over become a scattered pile of rubble. Our thoughts go out to those that are suffering the great loss caused by this vicious tornado.

We don't want to exploit tragedy as a way to drum up business, however scenarios like this inspire thoughts on using mobile technology in remote or damaged areas.

Take a look at the picture on the left. Notice anything left standing over about 10 feet tall? Those 190mph winds took down everything in their path, including access to basic services such as electricity and cellular services.

In situations like this, mobile solutions can really shine for people generating insurance claims and gathering other types of information. The lightweight form factor, long battery life, photo capture and signature collection enables claims adjusters and inspectors to gather data for an entire day without needing to connect to a power source. More important, properly engineered, mission critical mobile solutions will allow the operator to continue to collect data in places of devastation where an Internet connection may no longer be available.

We preach about the expectations of 100% connectivity and how building mobile solutions that require an Internet connection generally leads to frustrated users, loss of productivity and unacceptable contingency plans. To know more about how mobile solutions can work in areas of natural catastrophe or limited connectivity, we have years of experience building mobile solutions for such environments.

Picking the Right Mobile Business App Developer

2011-05-19T16:51:00.000-06:00

Right now, there are 350,000 applications available on the Apple App Store. The Android Market Place has around 250,000 apps available. There are tons of mobile apps out there. Some are pretty good and some are pretty much junk. Making a solid mobile app takes experience and good understanding of the hardware. Even well known software companies like Skype are learning to make mobile apps that work as advertised and don't have nasty side-effects like dead batteries by 3pm in the afternoon.

So how do you select the right company to develop a mobile app for your business? If it's for business, the app must first meet the needs of the users, know how to manage the capabilities of the hardware and be steadfast in handling and delivering data. As you shop for a partner to build your mobile solution, consider these 5 factors into your decision making process:

Can the mobile solution work with hundreds of users, tapping into the same database at the same time?
Can the mobile solution integrate with third-party accounting software, CRM's and other systems?
Does the mobile solution include a robust synchronization engine that contains built-in tools that make sure databases don't become corrupt, database conflicts get resolved and data doesn't get lost somewhere in the "cloud"?
Does the mobile solution rely on having an Internet connection? Can the app continue to collect data with a weak or absent connection?
Can the mobile application fully control internal hardware (like a barcode scanner) to maximize battery life, while providing functionality when it's needed?

MobileDataForce does not focus on making games, calorie counters and apps of that nature. We build mobile solutions and data synchronization tools for business use. If you need to perform inspections, assign/complete work orders, track company assets, enter a sales order or integrate mobility with your existing system, the guy who just wrote a cool checkbook app is probably NOT the right choice.

Whether your business needs a custom mobile solution, or you want to bring a robust sync engine into an app you've already developed, we can help. For 10+ years we've focused on mobile development, starting way back with the original Palm devices! And since 2005, our PointSync product has been the backend sync engine for thousands of mobile users.

Want to know more? Contact us by phone (208-384-1200), email (sales@mobiledataforce.com) or on our websites: www.mobiledataforce.com or www.pointsync.com.

MEAP and the Mobile Enterprise...

2011-05-17T13:15:00.001-06:00

If you've been around enterprise mobility, you might have seen the term MEAP come up from time to time. Since our PointSync product is a "MEAP", we're pretty comfortable using the term. But, for those who are not familiar with what a MEAP is and does, here is a 5 minute crash course. Enjoy!

What Is A MEAP?

MEAP stands for Mobile Enterprise Application Platform. In laymen’s terms, a MEAP is a server-oriented software that provides specific tools and functions targeted at the deployment and management of the mobile devices in an organization. Mobile devices are generally viewed as handheld devices and smartphones, but can also include tablets and laptops.

Why Is It Important?

Mobile devices have become a necessary component in business. Where email was once the “killer app”, today's “must have” apps extend business functions like inventories and customer details to almost anyone working outside the office. A MEAP is responsible for making sure the sales, inventory, customer, etc data makes the one or two-way trip between the office database and mobile devices. On a more granular level, a enterprise-class MEAP will know exactly where to place data, where it came from and how to avoid database conflicts. If you're thinking, "yeah, that's all important stuff!"... We completely agree!

Where Does PointSync Fit Into the MEAP Product Category?

First, PointSync is a mature product that was introduced in 2005 and includes over a half-million lines of code. Second, its synchronization technology (the most vital for mobile solutions) is based on industry leading technology from Sybase. PointSync’s main function is rock-solid data synchronization. Whether you have 10, 100, or 1,000 mobile users, PointSync masters incoming and outgoing data like a super-powered traffic cop, making sure your data gets to its destination. Along these lines, PointSync includes special features that roll back data when a sync encounters problems, makes sure devices use unique record ID’s, can restart a problem sync where it left off and allows users to work, even when an Internet connection is not available. In addition, PointSync contains app deployment tools, database viewers, report generators and allows quick add/delete of synchronized fields. On a device level, PointSync supports all the popular mobile platforms, including iOS (Apple), Android, Windows Mobile and BlackBerry.

Who Uses A MEAP?

The following three types of organizations can benefit from using or deploying a MEAP:

Companies can use a MEAP internally to manage their own fleet of mobile workers
For System Integrators, a MEAP is a positive way to provide full solutions which include mobility
ISV’s who are looking to increase revenue from a new product stream

Thinking About Building Your Own Synchronization Engine?

We did this and have a great story to tell in a future blog. If you’d like the details contact our Marketing department for a sneak preview of the details.

Got questions about MEAP's or PointSync? Please let us know and we'll be happy to give you all the details. After-all, we've been in the mobility space for over 10 years!

Thanks for reading... Tim Cerami, Information Architect

Why ISN’T there an app for that?

2011-05-17T10:32:00.002-06:00

Remember back in the old days when cell phones had one function and it was to make a PHONE call? It changed our lives forever…who thought we could ever have the ability to make a phone call anytime and anywhere? Then came the Smartphone. I think they called it the Smartphone because if we were smart enough to figure it out, we could get our email and sync our calendar to it. And, if we were patient enough, we could even browse the web on it. Granted, it was so PAINFULLY slow that only the super-geeks would actually attempt it. The rest of us would just go home to our computers and connect to the internet via our 56K modem to check movie listings or sports scores. But the point was that we could. And it was a big deal.

Now look at us! Now. We want it now. Now, now, NOW! We can do almost anything on our phones. We can check email, look at social media sites, check the weather, navigate our cars, listen to music, play games against our friends, deposit checks into our bank accounts, the list goes on and on and on….

So how is it, that in a society where we’ve become so accustomed to being able to do almost anything on our phones, that many companies still operate primarily using paper-based systems? It may be surprising to you, but EVERY SINGLE DAY we talk to customers, both large and small, who have a model similar to this:

· End customer calls to request a service, order something for delivery, request an inspection, etc.

· Operator uses a desktop application to enter customer and business critical information in a local database.

· A work order of some sort is created and printed out of said application.

· A mobile worker comes into the office and picks up the work order and heads out the door for the day.

· Work is completed out in the field and data is collected on paper.

· The mobile worker drives back into the office at the end of the day to drop off paperwork.

· A data entry clerk enters information into the desktop application.

The results from this type of model? Old data, unnecessary miles, inefficient processes, and, in the end, unhappy customers. The crazy thing is, that while these mobile workers are out and about doing their jobs via pen and paper, many are carrying a Smartphone that is being paid for by their employer. If you’re already paying for cellular service for your mobile workers, why not give them a tool that will help them do their jobs better and save you money? Extending your business to the field through a mobile application can provide you with the following benefits:

· No more “roaming” employees - GPS tracking can let you see where your workforce is. Face it, some people need a big brother.

· Keep your workers working – no more driving back to the office to get the next assignment. Work. Sync. Repeat.

· The dog can’t eat it – no more lost paperwork or follow up calls to get the information that should have been collected the first time. No coffee stained work orders or illegible handwriting.

· Instant results – rather than waiting until the end of the day to run reports, you have a constant stream of data coming in. This allows you to see where improvements need to be made and react immediately.

· The bottom line – who doesn’t want that number to be bigger? Save money on paper, data entry wages, gas, and, and, and….

Does this story sound all too familiar? Is your business experiencing some of these struggles? If the answer is yes, you might be asking yourself “IS there an app for that?” The answer is…absolutely! And if there isn’t? I bet I know somebody that can help you build one….

Three Ways Mobility Can Help Offset Rising Fuel Prices...

2011-05-09T11:34:00.001-06:00

If your business includes employees driving a company vehicle to make deliveries, visit customers or provide services, the rising price of fuel is prying extra dollars out of your wallet. So what are your options? Well, you could pass those extra costs onto your customers, right? Logical, yes. Popular, NO! So what if technology could help you keep fuel costs to a minimum, stay competitive and deliver additional cost savings and administrative benefits?

Mobile technology isn't just for large companies like UPS, FedEx and Schwans. There are low cost, well-designed mobile solutions targeted at small to medium sized businesses that deliver the same efficiencies and savings that the big boys enjoy. But with regard to saving fuel, how can replacing your current paper-based system with mobile technology help? Here are three practical ways:

Accurate, Turn-By-Turn Driving Directions - Drivers getting lost in a gas-guzzling, V8 powered delivery van while searching for a destination is very expensive. Every mile spent driving around is costing around 50 cents! Most mobile devices, even the low cost Android devices, contain a GPS receiver and driving directions software that can take drivers directly to their destination with NO extra roaming. Better yet, buy a solution that allows you to provide your drivers with the most efficient driving route based on where they need to go throughout the day.
Report To The Office for Assignments...Why? - With a paper-based system, drivers generally have to report to the office for their assignments and THEN hit the road. In many cases, this happens multiple times a day, putting potentially unnecessary miles on a vehicle. What if your technician could finish one job and then use their mobile device to see where they need to go next? Rather than driving back to the office, your mobile workforce could access customer information, address, directions, task lists and more right at their fingertips. Granted, there are certain situations where the driver has to pick up goods to deliver that make that trip unavoidable. However, if your driver is providing services or can stock the truck in the morning to handle multiple deliveries, then the number of trips can be drastically reduced. Not only does that reduce your fuel costs and vehicle maintenance costs, but also saves you and your drivers valuable time.
Magically Transfer Assignments to Another Driver - In a perfect world, every delivery or job is completed on time. In the real world, stuff happens! A one hour jobs take three, road construction causes delays, and there is always the occasional accident. When it's 4 o'clock and you still have three more jobs to do, you might want to enlist in the help of a colleague whose day went a little smoother. Using your mobile device, all it takes is the tap of a button to send a job (or two if you're lucky) to another technician. No need to meet up to hand him the work order and no need to spill the details over the phone and hope it gets communicated properly. The work gets done, the customer is happy and again, fuel is saved.

So there you have it. Three possible ways a mobile solution can help mitigate high fuel prices. Rumor has it the US will see a $6.00 per gallon (regular gas, diesel may be higher) increase in 2011!!! What will that do to your bottom line? If your fleet is small or uses especially fuel thirsty vehicles, the extra expenses could deliver a devastating blow.

Going mobile delivers many other benefits outside of the fuel price discussion. We'll continue to outline them in other blog entries. If you can't wait, please visit our website to see what going mobile can do for you.

MobileDataForce

www.mobiledataforce.com

So You Want to Use Your iPhone for Work? Uh-oh!

2011-04-27T11:37:00.000-06:00

“So You Want to Use Your iPhone for Work? Uh-oh.”

Just the kind of issues we affordably resolve today for iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile. The key differences from some of the approaches mentioned are that we focus on the field worker, not an office worker in the field. Honestly, who needs 100% access from the field. For that, give someone a laptop and Citrix for remote desktop access.

We aren’t focused on email or mobile web either. There are major players doing those things well. Rather, we provide multi-platform support for access to enterprise systems through a mobile app layer on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile. Your developers – our middleware, PointSync Professional. We do it securely with some of the features and designs discussed in the article, including unique login to company app(s), encrypting info on device and in transit, leaving no sensitive data on the device, and centralized control through PointSync Manager of access and apps on a user and device basis. All the tools an IT manager might need to take advantage of mobile solutions in the field today, all major platforms, all through a *single* management interface.

The reality is that email and internet access rarely are the business solution. There is a real cost to losing data, having to repeat tasks, or partial syncs as a result of connectivity issues. There is a real cost to using email or paper forms as the first step in data collection, requiring further data input, calculations, and effort. There is a real cost to the delays of business processes that don’t have a real-time or near real-time impact on the organization.

Will simplicity, lower cost, and greater capabilities emerge and evolve overtime? Absolutely! But can you afford to try it on the cheap today and fail? Or ignore mobility, the ROI, and the other advantages mobile solutions offer until everyone is doing it? Most of our customers experience ROI of less than 6 months, with some recovering the costs of Enterprising their App™ on a mobile platform in less than 3 months.

Not sure about AT&T being consulted for a MEAP. Here is the Gartner Magic Quadrant in the space. No AT&T to be found and some pretty big names struggling. Our system is based on Sybase, in its 6^th generation, very stable, and installed at some of biggest names in business, so we are feeling pretty good about our capabilities to support the enterprise in this space.

The reality today is that businesses, government, and other organizations need enterprise class technology to stay competitive, manage costs, and mitigate risks. We bring those capabilities to small- and medium-sized businesses, enterprise divisions, government projects, and SaaS mobility providers. They need to support mobile operating systems other than BlackBerry, provide the security and integration necessary to truly extend the existing systems and computing infrastructure, and to resolve the still very prevalent issues of mobility – enterprise sync challenges, working in and out of connectivity, performance, storage, and centralized management.

Check out the article by clicking on the title above and let us know if you’d like more information to Enterprise Your App™!

12 Steps to a Successful Mobile Software Deployment

2009-07-21T08:31:00.003-06:00

Companies around the globe are looking for ways to do more with less. Many recognize that their mobile workforce is being managed inefficiently and extending business process automation to mobile field workers is becoming a priority. The following 12 steps identify how you can get started automating and mobilizing these business processes.

Step 1 – Understand the ROI/Scope of the Project and Plan Ahead
What are some of the key challenges with a mobile software development project? Many companies don’t put enough thought into what they need, and what the anticipated ROI will be. Others don’t assign and schedule testing resources. Some finish the development but have no deployment strategy. Still others buy incompatible handheld PDAs before they start development and find out they don’t meet the requirements of the field user. The results of these deficiencies are project scope creep, cost overruns, missed deadlines and dissatisfied end users.

Step 2 – Build a Team and Include the Field User
Make sure the members of your team have the right roles and responsibilities to help the mobility project succeed. Mobile solutions usually tie into other corporate IT assets and business processes, therefore impact other IT departments, DBA's and other business units. In addition, at least one representative field worker should be included on the project team to provide valuable “real-world” insight.

Step 3 – Select the Right Mobile Solution and Advisers
Performing successful data synchronization from mobile computing devices can be a challenging and complex task. There are many variables that can determine the success of a mobile development project. Make sure you have experienced mobility experts to advise you and select a proven mobile middleware solution as the foundation for your solution.

Step 4 – Know Your Target Users and Their Environment
During the planning and scoping phase of your mobile project, take the time to experience the working environment of your field workers and observe the business processes in action. Focus on how the information is collected and exchanged between the office and the mobile workers. These observations can significantly impact the design, development and deployment of a successful project! Evaluate the physical environment of the work. How do moist, cold and dirty environments impact the mobile devices? How does low light or bright sunlight affect visibility of the screen? Can workers read the small text on the PDA screen, or does the text need to be larger?

Step 5 – Decide Who will Develop the Mobile Solution
Do you have an IT department with software developers that are available for a new development project? Do they have experience developing custom mobile software solutions? Are they knowledgeable with mobile data synchronization issues? Will they be able to dedicate the time to finishing the application in the necessary time frame? Do you have the risk tolerance for letting an inexperienced internal development team attempt the project, or is the ROI sufficient to justify contracting with mobility experts to develop the custom application?

Step 6 – Do You Start with a Mobile Software Platform or Build from Scratch?
Do you start developing your mobile software project with a blank computer screen, or do you start with a template app and build functionality to it? Again, your success is heavily reliant on your expertise in custom mobile application design and development. If you have experience developing mobile software applications, then using a packaged application is less important. If you don’t have experience and are working with a limited budget and time frame, then it is crucial that you select a mobile application development solution to expedite the project.

Step 7 – Understand How to Re-Engineer Business Processes for Mobility
Mobile solutions can provide bar code scanning, digital images, GPS, RFID, data synchronization, enterprise database queries, integration with inventory, scheduling, work order, accounting and many other enterprise software applications. How will these capabilities change the way the field user works? Most mobile applications are are subset of what's used in the office. Be thoughtful in not extending too much of your business process to the mobile device.

Step 8 – Build in Phases
Most successful projects involve a series of phased implementations. Each phase can be developed, tested and implemented in an orderly manner. Once a phase is deployed and proven, additional phases can be layered on top that include more features and added complexity. Remember, the more data requirements that you add the more data you must synchronize, and the longer each synchronization session will take. Only synchronize data that your remote users require in the field. Be aware that most mobile devices don’t have the same CPU power or memory as a PC/laptop, so understand the performance of your application on mobile devices before designing the solution.

Step 9 – Evaluate Your Hardware and Connectivity Needs
The term “mobile devices” can have many different interpretations. Today, laptops, tablets, ruggedized handheld devices and Smartphones are all identified with this term. When determining the best mobile device for your project, you'll want to consider screen size, data storage, security, physical working environment, expandability and battery performance. If you plan to read RFID tags or scan barcodes, additional research should be done to make sure the device can, or can be upgraded to perform the task.

How do you connect your mobile device to your enterprise database applications? You have many options including cradle, cellular, WiFi and satellite in remote locations. The method(s) you choose will be affected by how often your mobile workers need to send/receive data. How much data will be transmitted and will they always have connectivity. Study each option, your working environment and consult your mobility partner to make the best selections.

Step 10 – Deploy, Evaluate and Improve
Once you have completed the first phase of your mobile solution and you are ready to deploy in the real world, roll out your solution to a group of trusted and motivated field users. Define a specific period of time to evaluate the solution, document the results and identify any required changes and improvements. The result of this evaluation should be an improved mobile solution that is ready for a wider deployment.

Step 11 – Set and Enforce Hardware and Security Policies
Mobile devices are small computers with the ability to store sensitive corporate data, communicate this data over the Internet and even catch viruses. You must clearly communicate how mobile devices are to be used and for what purpose. Establish and publish guidelines for using mobile devices.

Step 12 – Provide Full Support for Mobile Users
Mobile devices are guaranteed to break. What is your plan for keeping a mobile worker productive and communicating business critical information when their mobile device ceases to function or gets misplaced? These are inevitable issues that are best planned for in advance. Have a plan and a documented back up process.

For more information on MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform please visit our website, email us or call us at USA 208-384-1200.

iPhone Development Services in Idaho

2009-06-24T12:27:00.001-06:00

MobileDataForce was one of early adopters to partner with Apple and begin iPhone application development. Our extensive mobility experience provided the insight to recognize that the iPhone platform was going to take the market by storm. We started by releasing several games and novelty applications, and then started combining that expertise with our extensive business solutions knowledge. Since then we’ve been diligently working with our clients to deliver valuable mobile business solutions and engaging, interactive games. Many of the applications developed with our clients have become instant favorites with some being downloaded more than a million times.

Our talented software development team has expertise in iPhone SDK, Cocoa Touch, Objective C, Xcode IDE, Soap and Ruby. And with iPhone development, it's not just about developing the application; we also have
extensive experience navigating Apple's strict development guidelines
which are key to getting an application released into the AppStore.

As Apple continues to drive the market with new hardware capabilities and software features, we're making it our business to stay astride the iPhone market to ensure we can deliver the highest value and widest feature offering to our clients. Feel free to engage us at any time in your project cycle. Whether you have an amazing idea you'd like to run buy a team that's successfully pushed over 30 applications to the AppStore or you have an application that’s been developed and is caught up in what can be an uncomfortably long Apple approval process. We’ve been through the entire process enough times, we can assist you at any point.

Mobile Inspection Sofware for Electrical Utilities

2009-02-24T15:27:00.001-07:00

Sho-Me Power owns 1,663 miles of transmission line, and is responsible for inspection and maintenance of the transmission line. Sho-Me power works directly with power suppliers to help transmit power to rural areas. Sho-Me Power provides services for 131 customer delivery points in 125 distribution and transmission substations.

Sho-Me Power used paper forms to perform inspections of transmission lines in rural areas, which resulted in many challenges. Inspections were performed twice per year, once in the fall and again in the spring, transmission line poles and pole attachments were inspected for damage. Areas surrounding the transmission line were also inspected for overgrown trees and undergrowth to determine trimming needs if necessary. Many inspections were done during poor weather conditions which made it difficult to collect data, juggle necessary paperwork, and caused lost or smudged paperwork because of weather conditions. The paper forms were also time consuming to fill out, hard to collect from the field inspectors (as forms were often lost or misplaced), and required office personnel to re-enter data at the home office.

“It took a long time to fill out all of the paperwork in the field, and we ended up with so much paper that it was almost impossible to use all of the information we spent so much time collecting,” said Andy Meyers, GIS administrator at Sho-Me Power. “We knew we needed a better system for collecting and organizing our data.”

MobileDataforce worked closely with Sho-Me Power to integrate all necessary field inspection forms into one enterprise class mobility software application. The application allowed the field inspectors to sort inspections by region, completed structures, and uncompleted structures. All inspections were time stamped to keep record of when the inspection was completed, which allowed for Sho-Me Power to provide proof of inspection and track results for future inspections. The data collected was integrated into small world GIS.

Sho-Me Power selected a Trimble Recon handheld device, equipped with a GPS receiver for data collection. The mobile application utilized the GPS receivers to specifically identify the location of utility poles. This gave Sho-Me Power greater asset visibility, and made it easier for field inspectors to locate transmission poles in rural areas.

By using a mobile application rather than paper forms, Sho-Me Power was able to:

Save administrative data entry time
Increase asset visibility
Wirelessly synchronize from the field
Save fuel costs and driving time delivering paper forms
Provide near real-time visibility to inspections in the field
Ensure data accuracy through the use of data validation features· Save inspection time with easy to use software

The PointSync Mobility Platform is an enterprise class mobile software platform used to rapidly design, develop, and deploy mobile applications. It is architected to provide database centric mobile applications with bi-directional synchronization, connectivity, security, and enterprise database integration all within one product suite.
MobileDataforce is a global leader in the development of enterprise class and business critical software solutions. MobileDataforce software can be used on most mobile handheld computers including Smart Phones, Tablet PCs, PDAs, and laptops. MobileDataforce has offices in Europe, North America, and Australia to support our ever expanding customer base and sales channels. Privately held, MobileDataforce has been mobilizing business solutions since 2000.
Conclusion:Through the use of the PointSync mobility platform Sho-Me Power was able to save time and money. Sho-Me Power was also able to gain greater visibility of assets and inspection points, and track them by GPS location.
“This system is saving us at every step in the process. We’re saving time in the field collecting information and just as much time back in the office processing it,” Meyers said. “The hours we used to spend collating paper alone is a huge savings to us, and time that can now be spent on other, more productive work.”
MobileDataforce has assisted many organizations around the world design, develop, and deploy mobile applications for field data collection. For additional information please visit our website at www.mobiledataforce.com