Confessions of an Ex-CrackBerry Addict

My name is Denny Hecker, and I'm a CrackBerry Addict. Well, at least I used to be. I'm now hooked on Windows Mobile. It was a long and difficult journey, but I have finally seen the light.

My story began when I got my first BlackBerry several years ago. It immediately changed the way that I worked and communicated. I have business interests all over the country and I am always on the road. With the BlackBerry, my e-mail was no longer trapped on my office PC—I could access it wherever I went and stay in constant communication with everyone.

Problem with file attachments and message volume

The first challenge with my BlackBerry was its lack of ability to handle file attachments. To stay on top of everything that is going on in my various operations, I have the managers of all my businesses send me daily reports with financials and other performance metrics. I received several dozen reports every day, and most of them arrive as Excel attachments to e-mail. Since my BlackBerry couldn't view attachments, I was out of the loop until I could pull up the spreadsheets on a PC. I eventually got an upgrade to my BlackBerry that allowed me to view the attachments, but I still couldn't view most of the reports in any meaningful way on such a small screen.

My e-mail volume continued to grow until I was getting several hundred e-mails per day. A steady stream of new messages was constantly pouring into my BlackBerry—rarely would a few minutes pass without another message announcing its arrival. It finally reached a point where I knew something had to be done, so I took a step back and analyzed the situation. I realized that all of my e-mails could be placed into one of two categories: communications or operations. I needed to stay on top of communications-related messages, but a very large percentage of the messages were operational, and they were cluttering my inbox.

Some of these operational messages were reports covering financials, sales, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. Unfortunately, most of these reports arrived in a format that made it very difficult to view on a mobile device. Additionally, many of them were workflow-related and required a response approving specific decisions. I knew that I needed to implement a system that would automate the process of separating the communications and operations-related messages.

While my beloved BlackBerry was great at e-mail, it just wasn't capable of delivering what I needed to have done. Then I learned that Windows Mobile devices were the device of choice for enabling powerful business functionality. While there were a handful of business intelligence, knowledge management, and workflow automation systems for the BlackBerry, they were very lightweight applications. I also learned that, while there were limitations to what could be custom-developed for the BlackBerry, the opportunities for custom apps with Windows Mobile were staggering.

Switching to the Motorola Q

When I switched to a Motorola Q, I was surprised to see how much Windows Mobile-powered devices have improved over the last few years. I've always loved gadgets, and I played with some of the older versions of the device, but they were clunky and inefficient and the software was cluttered. The usability of the new hardware and the advent of Direct Push e-mail combined with the potential for powerful enterprise applications are what ultimately changed my mind. To me, the most important feature of a mobile device is simplicity. I don't have the time to waste on learning how to use complex features or locating the information that is important to me. I came out of the gate running with a Windows Mobile-based application that lets me keep track of all eighteen of my car dealerships. The application alerts me to areas of operation that need the most improvement. One of my stores might be suffering from low gross margins, while another could be focusing so heavily on maintaining high gross margins that overall sales are slipping. With one button press, I can see my best and worst-performing stores, drill down to see the specific details, or even get the store manager on the phone.