Getting in on going mobile
- By Nick Wakeman
- May 22, 2008
This summer marks the sixth anniversary of the purchase of my first cell phone. I
resisted getting one for a long time, but circumstances changed, and I felt I had
to have it.
Last year, I turned in my cell phone for a smart
phone. Now I can send e-mails, surf the Web, get directions,
send text messages, keep my calendar and ? oh,
yes ? make phone calls. Although I wish I could do my
online banking with it, my device probably has more
capabilities than I know of or need right now.
As you'll learn in this week's cover story, we are just
scratching the surface of mobile applications. Staff
Writer Doug Beizer explains that mobile devices
and applications have a well-established base in the
first responder and defense communities and are
expanding into other parts of the marketplace.
New applications ? even training modules ?
are being developed for handheld devices.
Security is still somewhat of an issue, but even
that has gotten better. It is hard to imagine any job
where you are managing people and information
that doesn't have potential mobile applications.
Don't think that if you don't make a mobile device you can't participate in
this growing market. The push is on to make many older applications and databases
accessible to and usable by mobile devices.
That back-office work might be as lucrative as deploying the devices themselves.
What's more, think of the intimate knowledge you'll gain about your customers
if you help bring their systems into the mobile world.
The spoils will belong to the quick and the imaginative.
About the Author
Nick Wakeman is the editor-in-chief of Washington Technology. Follow him on Twitter: @nick_wakeman.