Handheld computers are no longer the playthings of dyed-in-the-wool technicians who revel in the latest technologies or cyber-yuppies with more money than sense. They are rapidly entering the mainstream of business life. And as prices continue to fall (slowly) while performance shoots ahead, they are now becoming a viable proposition for small and medium sized businesses.
Part of the reason for the growing acceptance of handheld computers is that after years of fighting it out in the marketplace, many of the competing systems have to all intents and purposes fallen by the wayside leaving only two major players: Palm and Microsoft. Palm now dominates the handheld market its operating system in use in about 80 percent of handhelds sold worldwide. However, Microsoft’s PocketPC operating system continues to grow market share, due in part to the stunning design of HP’s iPaq and due to the familiarity of corporate customers with the Microsoft brand.
The big question potential buyers face is which operating system to choose and it is only natural to be apprehensive. After all, you don’t want to be in the position of buying the equivalent of Betamax. Fortunately, there is little risk of being left with an obsolete system any time soon as the two operating systems are seen by many analysts of complementing each other in as many ways as they compete.
Palm designed its OS to operate its range of personal digital
assistants, substitutes for pocket diaries. Microsoft on the other hand, designed its OS for pocket-sized devices that could conceivably substitute laptop computers.
The Microsoft PocketPC OS comes with cut down versions of Microsoft Word and Excel and as a result, PocketPC devices tend to have more powerful processors and full colour screens. The Palm devices have colour screens as well but these tend to be found in higher end models. On the other hand, Palm OS devices are lighter, slimmer and less demanding on battery life.
PHASE ONE: The handheld as an address book substitute
The first question is why should you get a handheld when the pen and paper-based version works fine? Well the short answer is, if you and your business are happy with the way things work now, don’t fix something that isn’t broken. But handheld devices have several advantages. For a start, the contact and appointment data they hold can be copied to a desktop PC and in a collaborative environment, that means that it is possible to have an overview of how staff are deployed and when they all have slots in their schedules for meetings. Similarly, when a new contact is added to one handheld, it is possible to disseminate that information quickly throughout the company.
Both Palm and PocketPC devices can be loaded with additional software. These can be sophisticated travel management tools that track plane schedules across different time zones, applications that track time usage for billing purposes or games to help pass the time waiting at airports.
PHASE TWO: The handheld as a communications device
Almost from the beginning, the handheld computer was recognised as a perfect tool for accessing e-mail while on the move. Hardware and software to enable handhelds and mobile phones to talk to one another are readily available and there are even clip-on wireless modems available for both Palm and PocketPC devices. Some mobile phones such as the Siemens S25, with built-in modems can even provide connectivity via the infrared link built into practically every handheld.
However, a growing trend emerging is that of the combined phone/handheld computer. Two of these devices are readily available in Ireland: the Blackberry from Research in Motion and the PocketPC-based XDA, both of which are distributed here by O2.
However, the Blackberry device requires an exchange server, something most small companies don’t have. To counter this, O2 offers a redirect solution for the smaller business. The Blackberry’s ‘killer app’ is e-mail, says Orla Stevens of O2, something that is more important to corporate customers than smaller businesses. The XDA, on the other hand is aimed principally at the latter. ‘The sky’s the limit,’ says Stevens.
‘There are a lot of areas in which SMEs can use the XDA. One is to improve their own image and brand. They can access their own network when out with clients without resorting to a cumbersome laptop. The XDA is a sleek device that implies futuristic thinking.’
PHASE THREE: Integrating the handheld into your business processes
It is in this area that the handheld computer has the most potential to shine and achieve real savings for a company. Typical applications would include order taking, stock control, point of sale operations and freight management. Transactions can be recorded and then either synchronised with the back office system when the worker returns to base or communicated by wireless either in batches or, with the growing use of GPRS, in real time.
But don’t think you can just go into a computer shop and buy the cheapest model. ‘One of the problems is that people see the Palm M100 for €200 and think ‘I’d have the reps organised’,’ says John Twomey of Compucount, a Limerick-based company specialising in providing handheld solutions.
‘All you’d be getting is a glorified filofax. If you want something to do the job, you are talking about spending a reasonable amount of money.’ However, Twomey points out that as the price/performance ratio improves, such solutions are now within the reach of smaller businesses. ‘If you lease over five years a typical shipping/delivery system could cost as little as €17.50 per week.’
This would include a barcode-enabled PocketPC device and integration with the Sage Line 50 or Sage Line 100 accounting applications for automatic generation of invoices, credit notes and other paperwork.
Jas Kalsi of AMS Technology agrees that costs are coming down. ‘I’ve just sold a 12-person system for €7500 including installation and training,’ he says. AMS Technology provides a number of products for handheld devices including Websell, an online ordering system for use with the XDA. ‘This can be easily linked with the client’s back office so that when orders are placed the company’s internal Website the data automatically updated.’
Another AMS product, AMS Tracker is designed for any remote user who wants to enter timesheet data. Management can also use the system to see how a job is going and track costs.
Case study 1:
Amas Internet Consulting
Amas is an Internet consulting company that helps clients develop Internet strategies based on their business objectives and then delivers the content to help them implement those strategies. Founders Aileen O’Toole and Maeve Kneafsey both use handheld computers. In Kneafsey’s case, a Palm m505 and, in O’Toole’s case, a Psion device. The company uses ACT! customer relationship management software from Sage and it is vital that the partners have access to the data at all times, even when they are out of the office.
‘When I come in to the office in the morning, the first thing I do is synchronise my Palm with the office’s ACT! system which has all of my appointments, tasklists, e-mails and so on,’ says Kneafsey. ‘That means that pretty much everything that’s on the ACT! system is then on my handheld, wherever I go.’
During the synchronisation process, the data from the ACT! system is translated to fit with the Palm’s built-in address book, diary and task list applications by means of conduits. Any notes, letters or other information attached to a customer record can be viewed on the Palm.
Kneafsey has no doubts of the benefits of the system. ‘It’s made us much more organised,’ she says. ‘We will be taking on new people shortly and we’ll make sure they all have Palm handhelds.’
Case study 2:
Captain America’s Restaurant, Dublin
Restaurants, particularly successful ones, are very busy places. Keeping service at a suitably high standard while employing the minimum number of waiting staff is every restaurateur’s dream. More and more establishments are now eliminating paper pads in favour of electronic ones. One such restaurant is Captain America’s on Dublin’s Grafton Street.
‘We implemented the system last October,’ says Ann Marie Bannon. ‘It’s a remote handheld system. When a waitress serves a table she opens the table, puts in the number of covers and keys in the order. Then all she has to do is press send and everything goes through the system and she can go straight to the next table. In the past she would have taken it down on a paper pad and then gone to the kitchen to place the order. This way she just goes from table to table and service is speeded up. She still has to go pick up the food of course.’
The system was originally used only for order taking and transmission. However, in recent weeks, it has been integrated into the back office system and stock control. Management can see how much has been sold, the number of people who have eaten in a given time period and can calculate the spend per head.
Captain America’s uses Sharp cash registers linked to a central server. The new handheld system is from Belgian company, Waitermate and is installed by Dublin company, RST. ‘We were the first in the Republic of Ireland to implement such a system and we did have some minor teething problems, but they are out of the way now and we can see the rise in sales because the service is faster now,’ says Bannon.
Case study 3:
Sword Data Systems
Data infrastructure company, Sword Data Systems in Dublin, has been around for over 16 years and employs about 20 people. The company is heavily involved in projects for local and central government. The projects they work on take members of staff away from the office for considerable periods of time, but they are able to keep in touch thanks to their HP iPaq handheld computers.
‘We chose the iPaq because as a HP partner we have easy access to the devices,’ says Brendan O’Brien, business development manager. ‘We’ve been using the iPaq now for a year and a half and we have found that it’s a very versatile device. The PocketPC operating system is very well supported and Intel’s StrongArm processor, which powers the iPaq, has a very good road map for future development.’
According to O’Brien, each iPaq in the company is fitted with a device called a Gismo. ‘It’s made by a company called Wireless House in Sweden and it gives us a GPRS connectivity for transferring data and GSM connection for making voice phone calls. And when we are in the office, it allows the iPaqs to connect to our local area network through an 802.11b (Wi-Fi) link.’
The company has recently installed an ADSL always-on connection to the Internet. Remote workers connect to the head office via a virtual private network and can access their e-mail at any time from anywhere in the country where there is coverage, be it sitting in a car at the side of the road or at a desk in a client’s offices.
Users can also use the network to update contacts, task-lists and so on and can even carry out incremental backups of essential data. ‘Certainly, the thing I would use most would be e-mail and contact elements,’ says O’Brien. ‘It means there are no surprises and you are always in touch.’
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