Doing business on the move
Mobile phone systems can add speed and value.
New Zealanders need to smarten up the way we do business because technology is a considerable factor in driving success and reducing costs. As businesses, we need to make the most of the opportunities we have and not waste resources. Companies are throwing away money and hours of valuable time by using ineffective or outdated technology.
The IT industry needs to become more innovative, but many companies are shying away from development because of uncertain economic conditions. I cannot emphasise enough how important creativity and innovation are. The industry needs to understand that innovative cannot stop simply because the economy is in recession.
Best practice for mobile phones is about ensuring the development of software remains intuitive for mobile users. It is also about ensuring the applications that are being developed will be available offline to help avoid connectivity issues.
Innovation can be defined as making something different and better. For businesses, this often involves changing operating processes and not, for example, transferring paper processes directly into mobile applications without harnessing its capabilities. Often existing paper processes are patchy and overburdened with superfluous data collection.
Kinross developed AMS, a web-to-mobile solution for mobile phones, because it uses a tool most people are comfortable with and is therefore appropriate for all ages. AMS enables businesses to quickly mobilise processes, files, inspection reports, job sheets and community visit reports by reducing the normal overheads associated with staff working in the field.
For companies with a high concentration of mobile staff, it is hugely beneficial for such staff members to have the latest information and work processes at their fingertips. If a report needs to be filled out, staff members do not need to wait until they are back in the office before typing up their notes. It can provide real-time data you can act on, which is very useful when conducting surveys.
Technology is often developed by developers, for developers. It can often ignore the people who are actually going to be using it. Technology that is developed from the ground up is more meaningful for the users. When businesses feel they have control over technology, it is more enjoyable and beneficial to work with.
Kinross uses seminars, run through the web, to discuss best practice and what customers need. Through this interaction, we can build templates for our customers while they watch us on the Internet. This type of input from users makes the technology what it is. When developing software for mobile phones, there are limitations to what you can do, but if businesses are innovative, simple user-friendly technology can be created.
From the outset, the technology was developed specifically for mobile phones and it builds on the familiarity of text messaging. This technology is readily available to software developers for free. Technology that is open and available offers great opportunities for innovation.It is easy to adapt AMS technology to existing systems, and the web service API enables businesses to essentially take data from any source and send it anywhere. By using existing technology, there is no development risk and businesses dramatically increase speed to the market by not having to “re-invent the wheel”.
People can download any number of AMS templates created on the web to their mobile. New forms can be created and made available to staff to use without any of the development and deployment issues of making an enterprise application.
Most telcos are still coming to terms with how to work with value added solutions (VAS) providers. As a general observation, the telco and the solution provider come from different places and getting the relationship to work requires a real willingness on both sides to understand the different pressures they are both under.
The innovation within the New Zealand IT industry has a lot to offer the world. We are looking at using mobiles in the Third World, where there are few computers and often minimal infrastructure. Mobile phone coverage is extensive in many parts of Africa and the Pacific, and is often the best way these regions can receive updated information.
New Zealand has good infrastructure and fantastic opportunities to improve our productivity through technology. We are already smart about certain things, but we could become smarter through innovation and user-friendly technology.
