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Business Process Improvement Through Wireless Technology

How to select the right type of wireless solution

A complete wireless solution will draw items from four categories of architectural components: information infrastructure, wireless networks, client devices and wireless applications. The information infrastructure consists of the backend applications, databases, voice systems, e-mail systems, middleware, and other components needed to support a wireless solution. Wireless networks serve as the conduit, or transport mechanism, between devices or between devices and traditional wired networks (corporate networks, the Internet, etc.). These networks vary widely in cost, coverage and transmission rates, and include options such as infrared, Bluetooth, WLAN, cellular telephony and satellites. The most visible component of a wireless solution, client devices include smart phones, pagers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), Pocket PCs, and special purpose units for scanning, bar coding and credit card reading. Wireless applications supply the business functionality behind the wireless solution. These applications may be “off-the-shelf” packages, custom developed, or “repurposed” from existing web applications.

Behind these components is a supporting infrastructure of tools, processes and service provider relationships that handle the implementation, roll-out and long-term operation of the wireless solution.

To the uninitiated, selecting the right wireless solution requires navigating a complex and confusing maze of options and solution providers. The magnitude of capabilities, choices and limitations of wireless components preclude the creation of a “one size fits all” wireless solution applicable to any business requirement. An architecture that works perfectly in one place will be hopelessly inadequate in another. For example, the wireless application used by UPS to track shipments and deliveries across the U.S. is vastly different from the one that lets ER doctors receive lab results in a hospital operatory.

Key questions to ask when selecting a wireless strategy include:
Who will use the application?
The device and application needs of a harried corporate executive looking for immediate information and ease of use are very different than those of a quality assurance inspector using a forms-based system with daily synching of data.

How will the application be used?
A stockbroker may require instant notification about stock price movements, while an order status application may require only periodic updates. Serving the stockbroker requires real-time processing and an always-on connection; the order status application requires only automatic hourly synching.

Where will the application be used?
The locations where the application may be used, and the areas where mobile workers may roam, influence network and connectivity options. A system for using moveable point-of-sale terminals inside a store can use a short-range wireless LAN, but an application connecting mobile workers located throughout North America will need to use a wide area terrestrial or satellite network.

What data is required?
The data source, volume and confidentiality requirements of a wireless application affect everything from application integration and data security to transmission bandwidths. For example, a field service worker looking up customer repair records will need access to information contained within various back-office customer and support databases.