Get yourself connected

Staying connected on the move is essential for today’s mobile business environment, says Palm’s VP EMEA Roy Bedlow.

With business conducted increasingly across countries and time zones, remaining connected to your company and customers has increased productivity across the board. Working around the world and around the clock delivers customers the best service in an age where speed of response is king.

CXO. How well has mobile e-mail been implemented to date? Has seamless integration with non-mobile systems and networks been achieved or is there still some way to go?
RB. IT departments have historically been resistant to implementing mobile email solutions, particularly as this would often mean supporting additional servers and opening the company’s systems to perceived outside attack. As these solutions become more advanced it’s now possible to operate these devices out of the box with virtually no support required. Microsoft’s exchange technology has gone a long way to facilitating the proliferation of push email through its simple system. Now any business can implement direct push mobile email with a minimum of investment from a support perspective. Moving forwards, it is a matter of educating IT departments and users about how easy it is to implement this technology, and about the benefits they can receive.

CXO. What additional advantages does this way of working offer?
RB. The one core advantage to enterprise mobility is the speed that companies can now react to the wants and needs of their customers. Being connected all the time, companies can supply the latest information to all company stakeholders on demand. Communication is the key to a company’s success. In an age when connectivity and speed are paramount to service, staying connected and promptly responding to your customers and other stakeholders is the best PR any business can have.

CXO. What impact does the ‘always-online’ way of working have on work/life balance?
RB. The original work-life concept was that flexible or mobile working would allow workers to better juggle between home and work life. Today’s emerging generation is the first to be brought up with home PCs, mp3s, mobile phones, laptops. Individuals spend significant amounts of their leisure time online, and they want this technology to be available at all times and are happy to dip in and out of work and leisure activity throughout the day. Increasingly we will see the term ‘life blending’, which enables people to adapt and bring together disparate elements of their lifestyles, making them simpler, more manageable and ultimately delivering more value and a genuine element of choice. The key to success will be in the hands of the user, and through drawing up effective rules of engagement between the business and its employees.

CXO. What do you see as being the next big development in mobile technology?
RB. Mobile technology has come along in leaps and bounds in the last few years. In the next few years you will see the rise of mobile VoIP and flash memory. VoIP will allow people to make phone calls around the world for free. Flash memory will permit mobile devices to carry more information than our current desktop computers. This will allow us to store all our information on a single, portable device and share it with people from around the world.

CXO. And in what ways is Palm capitalising on these trends?
RB. Palm has taken the concept of mobile computing a step further. 3G means we can now have up-to-the-second access to calendar, contacts, email; we can even work on Microsoft’s Office suite of applications. You can review and amend vital documents on the move. Smartphones are now effectively a window into your work or home PC, meaning the true concept of mobile working is now becoming a viable reality.

The increasing desire for this level of access means we can continue to develop applications that make day-to-day working life more practical and enjoyable. We’re also integrating more consumer features onto our devices - music, camera and internet are simpler and more affordable. It is the beginning of mobile computing for all, something we’ve always believed in.

CXO. Finally, how is the mobile technology industry coping with the security issues raised by wireless working?
RB. Mobile devices are becoming increasingly secure. There are so many ways for a company’s security to be breached and businesses shouldn’t necessarily look to smartphones as the latest threat. Developments in smartphone security mean that IT departments can now lock down a smartphone remotely if the device is lost and even wipe the information from the device, thus minimising the risk of important business data getting into the wrong hands.

Roy Bedlow was appointed VP for Palm EMEA in December 2005. In his current role, Roy is responsible for shaping the strategic direction of Palm EMEA, taking it to a new level for the entire portfolio of products. He is particularly involved with aligning Palm’s European infrastructure to maximize the market potential for Treo smartphones and expanding relationships with major mobile operators to establish European partnerships.