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April 30, 2008

Mobility Video Blog du jour: Adding Context Awareness to the Mobility Network

Aside from access and voice services, what else can businesses do with their wireless networks? This is something I think many mobility application providers and innovators maintain their focus on a daily basis.

Here is the setup: since a WLAN is available, I can roam around the office and campus while maintaining a connection to check email and access unified communication-type applications like messaging. Grand. I can make phone calls with a voice over Wi-Fi phone. Grand. If I did not have an actual handset available, then I could use my IP softphone client installed on my laptop to make phone calls. Grand. (I’m sure many users are over it, but my IP softphone client has a high usability and practicality factor, especially when I work from home or away from my desk.) And, if I were to work in a retail store, I could use a mobile computer to check inventory levels or collaborate with team members to better serve customers. Grand. Not to digress…

But, how about some of the not so often discussed mobility services? I’m talking about services that happen in the background, behind the scenes, yet have an impact to operations. I wanted to learn about some mobility services that do not get too much play, but deserve equal billing because I think they fall into the cool (literally) mobility application category.

In this episode, I interview Isabelle Guis, senior manager of mobility solutions, and asked her what mobility-related area she has been focused on. (Mobility has been a long-standing hot topic, but Isabelle always adds that certain je ne sais quoi…) So I will not say more; but, watch and listen about how adding context awareness to a wireless network can benefit the carpeted enterprise and enterprises in the every vertical market, including healthcare and manufacturing. Also, Isabelle talks about what IT should look for when planning to deploy context awareness services within their organization.