PC Connection
February 2006

“Office on the Go”

Wireless handheld computing goes beyond e-mail and baseball scores to become a powerhouse productivity tool.

At first, a called to Wax Marketing’s President Bonnie Harris might mistake the breezy background sound as standard cell phone noise – the kind that accompanies every executive in route from meeting to meeting. But it isn’t the road that Harris is watching – more likely, she’s evaluating the state of that day’s powder and moguls.

With a specially crafted headset linked wirelessly to her PDA, the marketing guru handles client calls from the ski lift near her Breckinridge, CO, home. And thanks to Web-based applications, she can do payroll, order office equipment, communicate with her office, or create a presentation in between downhill runs.

As Harris demonstrates, the world of wireless handheld computing is rapidly evolving. PDAs and other devices, once merely handy gadgets for checking e-mails and making cell phone calls, have now become the equivalent of offices-on-the-go, thanks to the growth of new mobile-specific applications and the creation of company intranets.

Vertical industries like real estate, health care, and construction, in particular, are seeing a boom in new mobility-based offerings, and there are a number of emerging tools that can help any type of business tap into the power of wireless.

“At this point, there’s nothing I can’t do from the ski lift, as long as there is wireless access,” says Harris. “I even have a digital signature so I can sign contracts electronically. The office officially has ceased to be the main place to do business.”

Applications in the genre of Documents To Go, for example, allow any kind of business to tap into mobile computing. The software lets users edit and create Microsoft Word and Excel files, as well as view Powerpoint files, all from a smartphone. We’re likely to see more of this kind of software in the future, says Gregg Fiddes, vice president a Plano, TX-based company that develops applications similar to Documents To Go.

General-purpose office applications can be valuable, but where mobile-geared software appears to really shine is in helping companies accomplish specific tasks through niche applications. Take health care, for example. There is a boom in this field for mobile applications that can perform tasks like routing prescriptions, creating electronic patient charts, and transmitting medical data.

Dr. Matthew Doppelt, head of Tennessee Southeastern Dermatology Consultants in Knoxville, wanted a way to make patient information available during one-on-one sessions, and turned to eClinicalWorks, and electronic medical record system that he runs on his tablet PC. By linking onto the clinic’s wireless network, Doppelt can look up medical history, issue a prescription, and even check billing records – all without leaving the patient’s side.

“The system has given me great efficiency gains,” he notes. “It also makes patients feel more comfortable because I’m not leaving the consultation to go look something up.”

For companies with sales forces, mobile applications have become especially valuable, helping company representatives access customer information easily and transmit orders from plane, train, or automobile. For instance, Direct Distribution, a Kalamazoo, MI-based distributor of Red Bull Energy Drink, outfitted its sales team with Hewlett-Packard Co. iPAQ Pocket PCs that run Mobile Distributor Service software. The application lets reps input sales and account details into a customer relationship management database.

Since employing the device-and-software combo, the company has improved distribution efficiency by one-third, according to President Chad Howard, and revenues have increased by 60 percent.

Having a wealth of new applications can be valuable for a company, but keep in mind, there are issues to address as wires get unplugged and employees go mobile. In particular, device management can be tricky.

Because devices vary in terms of support and software, many companies have found that it makes sense to buy one type of handheld for employees, rather than having staffers pick their favorite and reimburse them. As Direct Distribution found, supplying sales reps with iPAQs helped standardize operations and assisted IT in streamlining support. Even cases for the handhelds were bought in bulk.

Still, simply buying devices and the cutting-edge boost productivity, Howard notes. Companies should be sure to put support procedures in place before employees walk out the door. With proper administration and training, today’s applications can let anyone hit the ski slopes still putting in a full day’s work.

Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer who specializes in business and technology topics.