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Data Q4-6 Why Are Mobile Systems Increasingly Important? 179
Many more mobile systems mean an incredible amount of new data, data that professionals
can use to create much more information. But, as you learned in Chapter 1, more data doesn’t
necessarily mean more information. In fact, many business professionals believe they’re drowning
in data while starving for information. What can be done with all of this mobile-systems data to
enable humans to conceive information of greater value to them? Data mining and better reporting
are possibilities for you that are discussed in Chapter 9.
On the other hand, not all the news is good, at least not for many organizations. For one,
smaller screens means less room for advertising, a factor that limited the success of the Facebook
public offering in May 2012. Also, mobile systems increase the risk of organizations losing control
over their data. In the past, employees used only computer equipment provided by the employer
and connected only via employer-managed networks. In that situation, it is possible for the
organization to control who does what with which data and where. No longer. Employees come to
work with their own mobile devices. Data leakage is inevitable.
With more people switching to mobile devices and with less room for ads, online advertising
revenue may be sharply reduced, possibly endangering the revenue model that supports most of
the Web’s free content. If this happens, dramatic change is just around the corner!

Procedures
Mobile systems are always on. They have no business hours. And people who use mobile systems
are equally always on. In the mobile world, we’re always open for business. It is impossible to be out
of the office. One consequence of always-on is the blending of our personal and professional lives.
Such blending means, in part, that business will intrude on your personal life, and your personal
life will intrude on your business. This intrusion can be distracting and stressful; on the other hand,
it can lead to richer, more complex relationships.
Employees will expect to use their mobile devices at work, but should they? In truth, who can
keep them from it? If the organization blocks them from connecting to the work-related networks,
they can connect over the wireless networks that they pay for themselves. In this case, the organi-
zation is entirely out of the loop. Could employees send confidential corporate information through
their personal mobile devices? We will discuss these issues in more detail in Q4-7.
Mobile systems offer the potential of just-in-time data, which is data delivered to the user
at the precise time it is needed. A pharmaceutical salesperson uses just-in-time data when she
accesses a mobile system to obtain the latest literature on a new drug while waiting for the doctor
to whom she will pitch it. She needn’t remember the drug’s characteristics any longer than it takes
her to walk down the hallway and make the sale.
Furthermore, some organizations will passively wait for change to happen, while others will
proactively reengineer their processes to incorporate mobile systems for higher process quality.
Either way, the need for business process change creates opportunity for creative, nonroutine
business problem solvers.

People

Mobile systems change the value of our thinking. For example, just-in-time data removes the premium
on the ability to memorize vast quantities of product data, but creates a premium for the ability to
access, query, and present that data. Mobile systems increase the speed of business, giving an advan-
tage to those who can nimbly respond to changing conditions and succeed with the unexpected.
With the ability to be connected and always on, organizations may find they can be just as
effective with part-time employees and independent contractors. The increasing regulatory com-
plexity and cost of full-time employees will create an incentive for organizations to do just that.
As that occurs, professionals who can thrive in a dynamic environment with little need for
direct supervision will find that they can work both where and when they want, at least a good part