Mobilizing Your Workforce: Nine Key Questions

When mobilizing your workforce, device selection should rank lower on the list of priorities than you might think. It’s tempting to start with the device, because ultimately the success of your mobilization project may hinge on how well you match your employees with the right equipment. But before you begin evaluating the latest tablets, laptops, PDAs, and smartphones, you first need to understand the varying requirements of your different employee groups and your long-term enterprise mobility goals. Here are nine key questions that you should consider before you begin the device selection process for your enterprise.

1. Who are your user groups?

Mobile workers’ needs can vary dramatically from one organization or division to another, so breaking your organization’s mobile workforce into logical groups is a good first step. This will allow device selections to be tailored according to the needs of each group while also balancing IT infrastructure and financial considerations. Examples of user groups include: field service or field support; field sales; warehouse (both central and decentralized); transportation and logistics; executive management; and office- or campus-based mobile users (such as healthcare workers; mobile case workers; security and rapid response personnel).

Once logical groupings have been established, the needs of each group can be more easily profiled. A key part of the profiling focuses on the group’s environment and how a mobile solution can improve the productivity of the group, or help solve the group’s problems.

2. What geographic areas do your user groups cover?

While the word “mobility” often suggests a wide range of locations, mobile workers tend not to roam across vast areas. Typically, the majority of mobile activity is conducted in a well-defined region—within a one-hour drive from the office, or in a specific city or multi-state region.

Geographic factors affect the connectivity method. Systems such as cellular provide wide-area coverage, but data coverage is not always available outside major urban markets. For remote coverage needs, satellite systems may be needed. And if mobile users have access to fixed-line connections wherever they go, traditional landline connectivity via a modem may be a practical connectivity method, given that these connections generally support higher data rates than, for instance, cellular data rates.

For users who simply need to be mobile within the office or campus area—to improve the tracking of inventory, for example—Wi-Fi connections are a popular choice. These connections are also becoming increasingly available to individuals traveling in many urban locations around the country, from coffee shops to airports.

3. In what type of environments will the wireless devices be used?

The local environment in which the worker uses the mobile tools can vary greatly. Harsh environments that range from manufacturing sites to construction or field sites will probably require ruggedized or hardened devices. Enclosed or underground locations, where no data connection is possible, may need to store data offline, which increases the device’s required storage capacity. Walking or driving affects both the connectivity and the form factor of the device. Heavy usage and complex applications require a lot of processing power and battery life, so available electrical sources and replaceable batteries need to be considered.

4. How secure do your communications need to be?

Different organizations require different levels of security. Organizations that require a high level of security will find that higher end processors such as those provided in Windows Mobile–compliant devices may be better equipped for the job than lower-end phone-based devices.