November 1999

BY MICHAEL BAUER

The only difference between your office-based employees and your mobile ones is mobility. Seems simple enough, but consider that statement for a moment. You still expect your mobile employees to provide superior customer service; you still need to provide them with the technology that boosts their productivity and helps them to provide this superior service. Hmm. Suddenly the complexity of that seemingly simple statement becomes clear. Empowering a mobile workforce with wireless technology is not as easy as giving every field worker a laptop computer and cellular phone and shouting "Go team!"

To empower their mobile workforces, organizations need technology that provides the same access to information that office-based employees have. Wireless information systems give field service employees real-time access to data such as customer history, trouble tickets, product updates, and dispatch schedules. Organizations implementing wireless data solutions are realizing measurable results. Because service workers can access and update information from the field, they save 30-90 minutes a day in time they would have spent traveling to headquarters to obtain that same information.

Effective wireless technology solutions must recognize the inherent limitations of the wireless environment and compensate for them in the solution design. Handset devices such as personal digital assistants and smart phones, for example, have different display sizes, which means that they may not be able to read all received data in its original format. But there is technology that overcomes this limitation by automatically detecting the type of device and rendering the data so that receivers can view it clearly.

In addition to understanding the wireless environment's idiosyncrasies, there are some other basic ingredients of successfully deploying a wireless information solution:

• Use non-proprietary components so the underlying infrastructure can easily integrate with both existing and emerging technologies.
• Account for bandwidth.
• Consider availability, which dictates coverage.
• Count the cost, including initial investment and lifetime operating costs.

THE BANDWIDTH CHALLENGE
In many ways, efficient transfer of data is the biggest challenge with wireless technology. Wireless information systems depend on low-bandwidth connections, so they must be as efficient as possible. In the corporate network world, network speeds of 10/100/1000 Mbps are common for a LAN, and even dial-in access is now readily available at 56 Kbps.

The wireless environment is much different. Best case bandwidth in the wireless data world currently tops out at 19.2 Kbps with Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD). Due to this divide, applications cannot simply be ported to the wireless world — it would be like trying to push a lemon through a soda straw. What the mobile worker really needs is the data (i.e., the juice) — not the entire application. So, by using common sense and technology to squeeze the lemon, an organization can send the juice through a soda straw to the mobile worker.

Organizations should also be selective about the type of information they transmit over wireless. Field technicians need real-time information, such as updated service call schedules and problem reports, to do their jobs efficiently. Therefore, it is critical to provide them with direct access to the organization’s front and back office systems so they can retrieve this data. It doesn’t make sense, however, to allow them to download more static data, such as detailed maps or site plans. Transporting such a large file over a wireless link would take far too long even at 19.2 Kbps. A more efficient alternative is to store this data on a CD-ROM, which technicians can load into their laptops.

WHICH RADIO INFRASTRUCTURE?
Once an organization outlines the data exchange and work flows its field service team needs, the next step is choosing the appropriate wireless infrastructure. There are two categories of infrastructures: private radio and public networks. They are not all available in every geographical area. Following is a set of guidelines to help point organizations in the right direction, and Table 1 summarizes the key points about the various available radio infrastructures.

Private Radio
Most field and customer service organizations operate voice dispatch on simplex or duplex channels licensed by the FCC. Private radio systems normally support data transmission at 4800 or 9600 bps and can be constructed with a modest investment. Since the user organization owns the radio system, after installing the hardware there is no fee for operation. A private radio solution is ideal for a bi-directional, real-time information systems if frequencies are available in the area. It provides adequate coverage from a single site and supports a fleet size of less than 50 users.

If multiple tower sites are required to cover a large area or serve hundreds of vehicles, the private radio network route becomes more complex and expensive to build and maintain. Finally, the organization is directly responsible for maintaining and upgrading the private radio system, which can be expensive.

Public Network
Public network options include Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Personal Communications Systems (PCS), BellSouth Wireless Data (formerly RAM Mobile Data), and ARDIS, among others. Each is operated by a public or private company. Most offer extensive nationwide coverage from several hundred transmitter sites located in the most populated areas — with some networks boasting speeds of up to 19.2 Kbps. Charges are based on usage (number of characters or packets sent), or on a fixed monthly fee.

Public networks may be the only choice in areas where there are no available private radio frequencies. Public networks can easily accommodate large fleets of users because each site typically supports multiple channels and sites are linked into a single network.

GOING WIRELESS WITHOUT GOING BANKRUPT
Wireless technology must provide field workers with important information without breaking the bank. Today’s wireless solutions include plug-and-play wireless mobile communications software packages, complete with flexible application programming interfaces (APIs), encryption functions, and browser-based installation capabilities. Organizations can easily integrate these standards-based software packages with their existing networks, applications, and information tools, including hand-held devices and car-based laptop computers. Another benefit is that these solutions take as little as one week to deploy, slashing installation costs.

Knowing the issues surrounding wireless data solution deployment is the first step in improving field workforce productivity. Understanding the technology options for wireless data communications is equally important. This knowledge, combined with the requirements for the information needed in the field, will allow organizations to deploy a wireless data solution that provides improved productivity, operations, and customer satisfaction.

Michael Bauer is the director of product management, Wireless Server Platforms, Cerulean Technology. Cerulean delivers on the promise of wireless mobility with a real-time wireless application platform foundation and complementary applications that can be quickly deployed across multiple industries without the significant time and costs associated with custom systems development. For more information, please visit their Web site at www.cerulean.com.