UK-based mobile telephony group O2 Plc wants handset manufacturers to develop a ruggedized device.
“We see a lot of requirements for PDA/smart phones ruggedized by the manufacturers, and would like to see some device partners such as Nokia, Siemens, and HTC come up with one,” said Helen Wylde, head of corporate marketing at the London-based O2.
The firm, which also has operations in Germany and Ireland, commissioned analyst firm Quocirca Research to carry out a study of business mobility trends across Europe.
O2 said one of the principal conclusions was that, at least with regard to the UK, blue-collar workers are set to overtake professional services workers in the roll-out of mobility in the enterprise. It said applications driving this take-up will be field force automation, proof-of-delivery alignment, and part or stock replenishment, and it feels it is well placed to address these requirements.
“For the last 18 months, we’ve had our Accelerator program for ISV partners in six verticals: financial and professional services; manufacturing; retail; media and leisure; travel, transport and distribution; and utilities and government,” said Wylde. “There are about 40 ISVs in the program, with more to be announced in the coming months.”
Rob Bamforth, principal analyst at Windsor, UK-based Quocirca said they spoke to 240 companies with revenue in excess of 100 million euros, “40% of whom are over the billion-euro mark” and the remainder between 100 million and a billion euros, focusing on people in these organizations “who are responsible for relationships with mobile operators and also therefore for device-buying decisions.”
While 31% of respondents said they would be deploying only cellular devices for mobility over the next 12 months, another 30% said they would deploy mostly cellular with some WiFi, a further 14.5% said 50/50, and 6% said mostly WiFi.
When asked them for the trend over time, 24% said they were going more WiFi, compared to 6% who said they’d go more cellular.
Bamford said the study also found that companies are looking for a more strategic relationship with mobile operators, and “while the carriers didn’t have the structures in place for that a couple of years ago, they are now more business-focused.”
David Sims is contributing editor and CRM Alert columnist for TMCnet.
To discover how contact centers can save money and increase productivity by making the switch to IP Telephony, be sure to attend TMC's IP Contact Center Summit May 24-26, 2005, in Dallas, Texas. IP Contact Center Summit is co-located with the Speech-World conference, where you can get expert guidance in the deployment of speech technologies to strengthen customer relationships.
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