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178 6 Mobile Commerce and the Internet of Things

expects mobile workers will account for nearly three- quarters Trends for 2015 and Beyond
(72.3%) of the total U.S. workforce. See idc.com/getdoc.jsp
?containerId=prUS25705415. It is clear that the number of applications and their benefits
Examples of mobile workers include members of sales is increasing. The large global software company Infosys
teams, travelling professionals and managers, telecommut- (“Building Tomorrow’s Enterprise”) provides a paper titled
ers, and repair people or installation employees who work “Trends 2014: The Mobility Collection” (see infosys.com/
off the company’s premises. These individuals need access mobility). The website describes the challenges and oppor-
to the same office and work applications and data as those tunities of enterprise mobility as well as providing a large
who work at the office. Online File W6.3 presents examples collection of mobility-related resources (e.g., case studies,
of mobile devices that support mobile workers in different white papers).
areas, including salesforce automation, along with issues
that arise in providing this support. The major categories
covered are salesforce automation (SFA) and field force SECTION 6.4 REVIEW QUESTIONS
automation (FFA). In addition, Online File W6.3 describes
fleet and transportation management and warehouse man- 1. Define mobile enterprise.
agement. Also, see the closing case in Chapter 5. 2. Describe the content of mobile enterprise applications.
3. Define mobile workers.
Mobile CRM 4. List the major segments of the mobile workforce.
5. What are some of the common benefits of mobile SFA,
This is a growing application area. For an overview, benefits, FFA, and CRM? (Consult Online File W6.3).
and a case study, see powershow.com/view/1497bd-M2JiN/
Mobile-CRM- a_Case_Study_powerpoint_ppt_presenta-
tion. Also see the 2015 slideshow: slideshare.net/Sage_
software_solutions/mobile-crm-ppt-from-sage-software- 6.5 MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT, GAMING,
solutions. CONSUMER SERVICES, AND MOBILE
MARKETING

Other Enterprise Mobile Applications Mobile entertainment applications have been around for years,
but only recently they have expanded rapidly due to develop-
Hundreds of other mobile applications exist. For examples, ments in wireless devices and mobile technology. Consumer
see Motorola Solutions Enterprise Mobility (motorolasolu- applications started in the 1990s, but really soared after 2000.
tions.com/US-EN/Enterprise+Mobility; now Zebra). This section mainly describes mobile entertainment and briefly
An example of a popular mobile application in the field of discusses some other areas of consumer services and mobile
medical care is the use of communication devices in clinics, shopping.
physicians’ offices, and hospitals. For an interesting case
study on Maryland’s Frederick Memorial Hospital and their
use of Panasonic laptops, see mobileenterprise.edgl.com/ Overview of Mobile Entertainment
news/Panasonic-Laptops-A-Key-Player-in-Hospital-
s-Goals60630. There is some debate about what actually constitutes mobile
entertainment and which of its segments is really m- commerce.
Transportation Management For example, assume you purchase a song from the Web and
download it to your PC, and then download it to your MP3
Another popular mobile application area is that of transporta- player. Is this a form of mobile entertainment? What if you
tion management (e.g., trucks, forklifts, buses, vans). In this copy the song to a smartphone rather than to an MP3 player?
area, mobility is used in communication with drivers, use of What if you buy the song and download it directly from
control systems, surveillance, and dispatching. Examples of the Web to your smartphone? There are many similar “what
these applications can be seen in the Hertz Corp. opening ifs.” A popular definition is: mobile entertainment refers to
case. Mobile devices are used extensively in airports and by entertainment delivered on mobile devices over wireless net-
airlines, traffic control systems, public bus systems, and more works or that interacts with mobile service providers.
(see the NextBus case in Online File W6.4). This section discusses some of the major types of mobile
For an example of the importance of enterprise and cars’ entertainment, including mobile music and video, mobile gam-
mobility, see Ford’s new division called Smart Mobility. It ing, mobile gambling, and mobility and sports. Mobile enter-
covers both enterprise and the car’s applications (Austin 2016). tainment in social networks is covered in Chapter 8.