Subject: [NEXTEL-1] The 5 Commandments of Picking a Mobile Systems Integrator

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 14:03:28 -0400

5 Commandments of
      Picking a Systems Integrator

      From Field Force Automation
      April, 2003

      Picking the right mobile systems integrator
      for your business doesn't take a miracle.
      Remember these five commandments to help
      you find a heavenly fit.

      By Tim Scannell

      Everyone has a relationship horror story. It all begins with
an initial meeting. You size up each other and weigh the pros and
cons of going forward. You prepare for the date by doing a little
homework, perhaps coming up to speed by studying the latest topics
of conversation and hippest buzzwords. Then you get together and
start slowly, learning a little more about each other and
channeling the flow of the encounter toward a satisfying
conclusion-and perhaps more involved meetings.

      Suddenly, things go south very quickly. He's a little too
loud and boisterous. She has this annoying little habit of
twirling spaghetti 30 times with a fork before eating it. You both
discover you really don't have anything in common and are
operating on entirely different social wavelengths. What seemed to
be a bright and promising relationship has suddenly become a
disaster, with both parties watching the clock, skipping dessert
and promising themselves to never do this again-at least not with
this person!

      Although somewhat different, picking the right mobile and
wireless systems integrator has many similarities to the
techniques and circumstances of everyday dating. Only in this
case, it's your company looking to match up remote worker needs
with the right technology and applications. The decision-maker,
for example, searches for a potential systems integrator, maybe
asking friends and associates if there is anyone experienced in
the market and researching past projects to see what the
integrator has done and where they have succeeded.

      When you do find a likely integration suitor, you first sit
down and talk about your solution's needs. Then maybe you choose
to embark on a small pilot program. If things work out, you might
continue the relationship and explore other mobile initiatives. If
they don't, well, the very least you might be left with is a
reluctance to deal with other integrators, skepticism when it
comes to your peers' recommendations and a negative view of mobile
and wireless.

      "The first time a salesperson goes to take an order and she
can't because she doesn't have a cell [signal], she will hate it
and think it isn't a good tool," says Mike Ostrowski, director of
the consulting practice for Optimus Solutions, a mobile and
wireless systems integrator based in Norcross, Ga. "And once you
give a salesperson a bad taste, it's hard to get them to try it
again."

      Following the Rules

      Like many of the other top integrators and value-added
resellers out there, Optimus follows a number of basic rules when
it comes to first dealing with a potential mobile and wireless
client, and then working with that client to successfully provide
solutions. These guidelines range from first having an
understanding of a client's basic business model and demands
within a particular industry to taking a simple and gradual
approach to development and deployment.

      The exact wording of these tactics might change a bit as you
move from one industry segment to the next-from manufacturing to
insurance to pharmaceuticals, for example-but their fundamental
nature pretty much remains the same when dealing with integrators
or vendors. Or at least the ones who are known for delivering on
their development promises.

      Because reputable and dependable systems integrators tend to
follow these rules for approaching, analyzing and ultimately
satisfying a mobile business need, enterprises that are shopping
for someone to come in and solve a field force automation
challenge can use the same rules to identify compatible technology
partners (and eliminate those that might prove to be an ill fit).

      With that in mind, we offer the following Five Commandments
of mobile and wireless systems integration. (Hey, it's a tough
economy and there are cutbacks everywhere, even when it comes to
integration commandments!) While not necessarily etched in stone,
these rules can provide an effective means of avoiding problems
down the road.

      1. Know Thy Industry-and Thy Client

      Most systems integrators worth their salt usually specialize
in three or four key industry segments, such as insurance,
healthcare, hospitality or transportation. The larger ones might
have individual departments specifically dedicated to a segment
and experts within each of these departments who not only have
technical expertise in mobile and wireless, but might also have
some experience working on the end-user side of the fence.

      Getronics NV, the Dutch systems integrator that absorbed
Wang Global in 1999, is one of the largest and most flexible
systems-independent integrators and consultancies in the world,
with more than 26,000 employees in 30-plus countries. The company
specializes in information and communications technology, with a
current emphasis on voice over IP systems-which executives claim
currently delivers the most obvious and immediate return on
investment for business users.

      The company takes a soup-to-nuts approach to systems
development and deployment, assigning experts to plan, design,
stage, configure and proactively monitor a mobile and wireless
project, says Judith Matthys, director of operations, advanced
networks, for Getronics U.S. "Since we do monitor the success of a
system, we can easily dispatch people to fix things that don't
work."

      Matthys points out that knowing a client's business model,
as well as their methodology, is important to the success of a
project. "We're in partnership with these people and we want to be
sure they're comfortable with the technology we're recommending."

      2. Thou Shalt Understand Back-End and Front-End Systems

      One of the most common mistakes made by wireless developers
and integrators is paying too much attention to the mobile
front-end and not enough on the back-end infrastructures that will
ultimately support all the data collection and information
transfers between mobile workers in the field and a centralized
data resource. In a nutshell, this was the key mistake made during
the early days of Internet business and e-commerce. Major
retailers spent months and months fretting about Website design
and throwing their entire catalogs online, but not enough on the
behind-the-scenes support structures. As a result, when the orders
came flooding in just before Christmas a few years ago, systems
failed and shipments were delayed for weeks.

      Although client devices and remote access are the most
obvious elements of mobile systems, successful systems integration
projects are usually designed to extend a client's current legacy
data, resources and applications out to laptops, handhelds and
mobile phones. This means that integrators should have solid
experience in the bowels of IT and a firm understanding of core
operating systems and database structures. "Anybody can get e-mail
on a Palm device or make a Website that's pretty," says Optimus'
Ostrowski. "But can you create a Palm application that gives
information to sales people that helps them close deals?"

      Taking a holistic IT approach to mobile systems was a key
reason why ArcStream Solutions landed a mobile engagement with
office superstore chain Staples, says ArcStream director of
marketing Ali Towle. Staples, which sells more than $11 billion
worth of products each year, wanted to deploy mobile technology
across its sales force, but ArcStream integrators first wanted to
explore the structure of the client's entire IT operation. They
eventually developed a Mobile Implementation Roadmap for Staples
that included real-time order processing, sales data entry and
customer credit approval capabilities-a system that has the
potential to save the superstore chain more than $1 million per
year. Everything in the plan, however, is dependent on and extends
out from Staples' primary IT resources. "We see it as a long-term
relationship, with a goal of helping them to evolve over time as
new technologies come about," says Towle.

      In most cases, the company makes an effort to "sit down with
business owners and the end users, and really try to flush out the
functionality of their current systems and discover what exactly
their problems are."

      3. Thou Shalt Consider Mobile ROI, But Understand That
Measurements Can Be Tricky

      One of the questions asked most frequently of vendors and
systems integrators in the mobile space is: What kind of a ROI can
an end-user organization expect by deploying mobile and wireless
technology across a sales or field force? Unfortunately, mobile
ROI is one of the most difficult things to truly measure in any
great detail because each worker approaches and uses mobile
devices and mobile applications differently. Ideally, a mobile
device should make a productive employee more productive, and
increase the performance levels of all employees through such
features as data sharing and remote, rapid access to critical
information. That isn't always the case, however, because such
variables as training, service, support and unfamiliarity with a
new operational platform usually come into play.

      Most integrators and their customers usually break mobile
ROI into two specific segments: hard ROI, which involves the
obvious costs and benefits of line items such as replacing
expensive notebooks with cheaper handheld devices or eliminating
hard-wired systems with less expensive wireless access; and soft
ROI, which focuses on such facets as the amount of time saved by
accessing a file wirelessly from the field, or being able to
easily pull up the latest information on a client just before a
key meeting. Unfortunately, it is this second type of ROI-the soft
kind-that is the most difficult to measure or predict.

      Surprisingly, Getronics' Matthys says she does not see too
much demand for ROI measurements and statistics from her clients,
although she admits that might be because the hardware, software
and wireless networks are becoming more reliable and already offer
a clear cost-savings picture. Also, "people just understand the
technology much better," she admits.

      Still, ROI is emerging to become one of the most important
considerations surrounding mobile and wireless systems, if not at
the outset of plans and deployments then during the later stages
when companies want to measure productivity benefits and the
effectiveness of vendor- and integrator-supplied applications.

      IKON Office Solutions, for example, started down the
wireless path about a year ago in an effort to coordinate the
efforts of its more than 8,500 field technicians, support
personnel and mobile workers located throughout the U.S. A serious
concern for the office systems supply company was sending fast and
accurate information from its back-end systems to client machines
in the field. (Traditionally most communication is handled via
voice and old-school mobile phones and text pagers.) The company
has been developing its ROI measurement tools in house and
gradually phasing them into the overall operation. But no matter
how you, your vendors or systems integrators slice it, there is no
getting around it. ROI is important because it will not only
measure productivity, but also help eliminate many of the
redundancies in your current manual workflow and legacy
applications.

      4. Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Mobile and Wireless
Solutions

      Much of what is happening in the mobile and wireless market
is being driven by the technology. It's not the healthiest of
situations considering the fact that the technology is being
rolled out at a
      blistering pace. Many companies are holding off on mobile
purchasing decisions because they just don't know what types of
systems to adopt or support. Many others make the mistake of
implementing an open door policy toward devices and applications,
vowing to support any and all that appear as they proclaim they
are "technology agnostic" (which is sacrilegious talk to any
dyed-in-the-wool IT manager coming from the wired, corporate
network side).

      The truth is that a fair number of mobile and wireless
referrals come through the IT grapevine as one company learns
about the success of another's deployment and hopes to duplicate
systems that may involve the same type of workflow or
applications. You know the routine: Acme Conglomerate's Gadgets
Group, based in Philadelphia, finds out that the company's
Worldwide Widgets Division in Vancouver has deployed wireless
applications to its mobile work force. So the execs in Widgets do
a little digging to find out what vendors and systems integrators
were involved so they can perhaps implement the same solutions
(and maybe at a discount because, after all, the initial
development work has already been accomplished with these heavy
thinkers over in Gadgets).

      While this sounds like a terrific strategy, most systems
integrators are very careful about re-purposing modules of
programming that were developed for a previous client or created
in partnership with that client. All of the work completed for
clients of Optimus Solutions, for example, remains the
intellectual property of that client, notes Mike Ostrowski.
Financial institutions, such as banks, are very sensitive to the
competitive advantages of their particular mobile solutions, and
are therefore reluctant to share the exact specifications of that
system with anyone. Healthcare providers, on the other hand, don't
necessarily worry about sharing information because hospitals do
not overtly compete with one another for patients (at least not in
the traditional business sense).

      "It really depends on the situation," says Ostrowski, noting
that Optimus and most other integrators do use pre-developed
modules to some extent to avoid reinventing the wheel with each
new client-a practice that would ultimately increase overall
development fees.

      There are, of course, instances when the methodologies and
applications developed for one client can easily be shared with
another without fear of violating any kind of confidentialities.

      Optimus is now working with a bank, for instance, to provide
a mobile solution that will enable the institution to meet SEC
rules that stipulate how long e-mail, short messages and even
electronic chatting is saved and stored in a bank's databases. The
client has already agreed to share the technology, if it is
successful, because in this case "it's not a competitive advantage
thing, but an industry-wide mandate," says Ostrowski. "Bank A is
not going to be hurt by Bank B having the solution, because it's
mandated that they have it."

      5. Thou Shalt Slow Down, Especially In Wireless Planning and
Development

      The basic concept behind mobile and wireless systems, at
least if you believe what the vendors tell us, is that adding
these systems will increase productivity, speed up current
hard-wired or paper-based systems and shift a company's
revenue-generating engines into overdrive. But deep down you know
you and your systems integrator are going to have to practice some
restraint. If you pick the right systems integrator, it will be a
group of professionals who are experienced enough in coordinating
and developing such projects to know that the best formula for
success is to roll out solutions carefully and slowly. A gradual
approach is the right one for most projects.

      Getronics usually takes a step-by-step, phased approach to
many of its engagements, especially those involving larger
customers that have a more significant investment in complicated
legacy systems. Getronics' integration team will map out a project
by meeting with executives, managers and staff from virtually
every department that will potentially be impacted by a mobile and
wireless project. Then the team breaks the project into segments.
The idea is to allow the customer to put the brakes on development
at any time in the project cycle without losing forward momentum
when they decide to return to the project or channel the
development in a new direction.

      "What is done up to that point is productive and will
enhance future activities," says Matthys. "If we get to that point
and we realize we aren't going to meet the ROI we have set up,
then we are not going into Phase 2. And after Phase 2, we won't go
to Phase 3 unless it continually shows that there is a good
investment."

      ArcStream's approach to a project is just as methodical.
Most projects begin with an initial discussion about the company
and its general business objectives, then continue as the team
workshops with the business owners and potential users of a mobile
system.

      Finally, ArcStream and the end users conduct a review of
just what the client expects from a mobile deployment. Once the
discussion dust has settled, ArcStream will usually launch a pilot
program to test an embryonic system in the real world.

      ArcStream's Towle admits that ROI success and productivity
are difficult to measure in some applications because users of an
installed system can be so diverse and eclectic in their approach
to mobile and wireless. One of the company's first clients, for
example, was Harvard Medical School. The institution was relying
much too much on many different paper-based systems to track
students as they moved through myriad rotations on the road to
becoming doctors and interacted with professors.

      An e-mail-based solution put a significant dent in the
amount of paper that flowed throughout the famous school, but the
ROI of the system depended very heavily on how well each
individual used and interacted with the system. Measuring the
effectiveness of the project was made even more difficult by the
unusual schedules and programs that are a part of the unique
Harvard Medical School experience.

      "Variables such as productivity and user satisfaction are
just hard to measure," says Towle. "And this can present lots of
challenges for systems integrators.

      Tim Scannell is president of Shoreline Research
www.shorelineresearch.com , a consultancy based in Quincy, Mass.

Copyright ©2003 Leisure Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.

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