Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Nov 13, 2006
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Nov 13, 2006 ePaper |
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eWorld
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Interview Info-Tech - Convergence Mobile way to business Preethi J
In India, we see that business users now change (upgrade) their phones every eight months.
Chakrapani G.K
What's up on the business phones front? For the latest in this space, eWorld sounded out Chakrapani G.K., Country General Manager, Nokia Enterprise Solutions (India). Excerpts from the chat: What is the status of adoption of mobiles for e-mail and professional applications in Indian enterprises? We note that companies are paying for laptops, but not mobiles. While there is a policy to manage laptops, specify the operating system and make, etc, why is there not a policy for mobiles? Mobiles should also be offered to employees on the same principle. To ensure widespread adoption in enterprises, however, we need to ensure the ecosystem of phones is perfect. The service has to be in place, along with suitable choice of handsets so users will not feel cramped for choice. Enterprises have yet to understand the power and flexibility (choice for users) offered by the smart phone. Compare India's adoption of such phones for increasing the efficiency of workforces with other countries in Asia. China and India are the fastest growing markets for smart phones in Asia. In India, we see that business users now change (upgrade) their phones every eight months. Within India, the top areas in terms of fastest adoption of business phones are: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Punjab, Gujarat and Chennai. With smart phones getting handwriting recognition and better battery life, what do you think will happen to PDAs (personal digital assistants)? They will land up in museums! What is the future of business phones — will they still live alongside the mobile mistress? Most users of such smart phones carry one around for work and also have a sleeker, stylish mobile.
Users now want more functions on one phone. - S. GOPAKUMAR
Convergence will be the unifying trend. No longer will two phones be a reality. Just like the individual goes home after work and changes into more trendy clothes for a party in the evening, the mobile will also offer a simpler interface that one can change with a click — so it becomes more personal..the contacts change to friends and family, the SMSs show emoticons, the e-mail alerts can be silenced and work can be shoved aside in a separate folder automatically. Mobiles are not only getting more intelligent, but also more intuitive. The phone will offer you a choice to send a contact an e-mail, SMS, voice recording, alert or any other specified communication means. Another trend you will notice is the increasing popularity of IP (Internet protocol) phones (those that can use voice over IP (VoIP) — such as Skype). What will the mobile offer in the future? We see GPS, location-based services, VoIP and custom applications for business users as changing mobility in the near future. A broker, for example, might find a stock market trade application intriguing, while a traveller might fancy a language converter. Security too is becoming important in smart phones. People are demanding tools such as authentication (so their m-banking transfers are safer).
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