Developing Mobile Communications for the Enterprise

By Yuval Kossovsky

January 12, 2006 12:00 PM ET

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Computerworld - Many organizations are looking to their IT departments to deliver services to their mobile workforce. So IT managers have been reading a lot about wireless technologies and what services can be offered. They've seen many different acronyms relating to wireless and mobile services and have many options on hand. Now those IT managers have been given a mandate from corporate executives to deploy mobile applications , but are not sure where to start. If this sounds familiar ... this article is for you.
What's the process for moving forward on the mobile deployment directive? What are the operational considerations? I've come up with seven steps involving the following:

Success metrics

Process controls

Tools and methodology

Human resources considerations

Cost recap

Intellectual properties

Getting started

Success metrics are measurable targets for the value your customers want to experience; they are not to be confused with the project scope. In other words, it's how your customers will assess your success. To support these objectives, consider the risks and how they can be mitigated. Consider the environment in which the customer will experience your product. Set a rough overall timeline and cost range that meets company objectives. These last two objectives will be refined in the project management process.
Process controls such as the Rational Unified Process, Capability Maturity Model Integration, Six Sigma and others will increase the cost and amount of time required during the planning phase. However, such planning mitigates risk, and this is a good thing for any manager!
Tools and methodologies are the next consideration, operationally speaking. In choosing a development platform, many companies have standardized their environments -- on .Net for example -- while others choose technologies on a case-by-case basis. For mobile or hybrid mobile/network applications, consider the operating systems involved:

Symbian OS -- Currently the platform for Nokia devices, though Nokia Corp. announced recently that it will be moving to a Linux- and Java-based platform for its mobile units.

Windows Mobile/.Net for Windows CE handhelds

Palm OS -- Recently sold to a third party, and Palm Inc. is moving to a Linux- and Java-based platform and releasing devices based on Windows Mobile.

Coding for the specific handheld unit that your company is using

Rather than coding for a single platform or client unit using the traditional process, a more flexible approach is to build a rich internet application (RIA). This technique leverages the intelligence on the client and the connection to the server to deliver the full application experience. Components in an RIA include Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX), Java applets, XML, Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT),

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