IT Execs Say Wireless Isn't Ready for Wide Adoption

Computerworld - NEW YORK -- Wireless networks and technologies must become considerably more standardized and reliable before the National Association of Securities Dealers Inc. (NASD) will even consider porting key applications to mobile devices.
Martin Colburn, chief technology officer at Washington-based NASD, delivered that message at last week's CeBIT America 2003 conference here. Colburn said the wireless maturity problem has been exacerbated by the economic downturn in the telecommunications industry, resulting in an underinvestment in research and development for some next-generation wireless technologies.
Colburn was one of three CeBIT panelists who discussed the challenges surrounding business adoption of wireless systems.
NASD, which regulates the Nasdaq stock market, uses wireless handheld devices for e-mail and to distribute spreadsheet-based certification exams to its member firms. But Colburn said it likely will be at least two to three years before vendors offer industrial-strength systems that can run vital transactions.
No Economies of Scale
"When we look at total cost of ownership, we haven't seen the economies of scale and haven't seen the infrastructure there to [justify] making the investment," Colburn said.
Those issues haven't stopped Schneider National Inc. from using mobile technologies in its trucking and logistics businesses. The $2.8 billion transportation firm was ahead of the curve in 1988 when it implemented a two-way, geostationary satellite communications system to track its fleet of trucks. It was so far ahead, in fact, that Schneider was Qualcomm Inc.'s very first customer, said Paul Mueller, vice president of technology services at Green Bay, Wis.-based Schneider.
Mueller said the satellite system has helped Schneider provide its customers with better visibility of goods that are in transit. But, he added, the company has had a much harder time finding the right wireless system to help track and manage the 45,000 trailers hooked up to its trucks.
Schneider has looked at a plethora of wireless systems since 1995, including low-band satellite and cellular technologies. But each time it considered a particular technology, the vendors in question went belly-up, Mueller said.
Decision Soon
Nonetheless, Schneider expects to make a decision within the next few months on a trailer management system based on either satellite or multimode cellular access technologies. "The payback is clearly there," Mueller said. "It's just a matter of finding a technology that works for us."
Wireless Retail Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz., sells wireless products and services through retailers, and CIO Chris McMahan said the company uses mobile technologies within its own operations to help business managers track sales.
Each night, when all the stores that sell its productshave closed, Wireless Retail uses a wireless system to send a snapshot of daily sales data to top executives, who receive the reports on their handheld devices and notebook PCs.
But even though wireless products are the company's lifeblood, McMahan acknowledged that Wireless Retail also faces challenges in adopting the technology more widely for business uses.
With handheld devices, "you can't send and receive e-mail easily or conduct transactions easily," he said. "I think we're still in the midst of the maturation of the market and of people becoming comfortable using them."

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