There are many convergence opportunities for your business. You can use convergence and implement new solutions to allow your employees to be more productive, reduce costs and even give central control back to IT. Make sure you future proof your solution by thinking about some of the functionality you need not just now but into the future.
Applications deployment
All platforms and devices allow you to deploy more than just email. However, the dominance of Microsoft means there’s a wider range of off-the-shelf applications available for this platform, many of which are simple to install yourself. We also work with partners able to build custom applications for all platforms and for more complex requirements.
Solution cost
The main cost considerations when deploying mobile data are the initial CAPEX costs and total cost of ownership. Existing users of Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2 may find Windows Mobile a more cost effective solution as no additional server hardware is required. But the total cost of ownership of BlackBerry can be lower and additional set up costs spread over your contract length.
Attachments
Being able to open attachments is important, but some people need to edit and save documents too. BlackBerry and Symbian allow you to open and read attachments, whereas only Microsoft gives you the full functionality to edit and save.
‘Email reader’ or ‘email writer’
People use their mobile data devices in many ways. For ‘email readers’ who just keep up to date with emails and send short replies, a smaller device may be enough. But many ‘email writers’, who send most of their email on the move, prefer a full qwerty keyboard.
Time out of the office
For employees spending a long time out of the office, the long battery life of the BlackBerry will be a great advantage. Whereas those who frequently pop back to their desks may be happy to charge their device more often.
IT control
Companies who want to retain centralised control may prefer the BlackBerry solution which gives full control over end user devices, including password management, security updates and application roll out. The Microsoft and Symbian solutions have more limited management capabilities making it difficult to IT to keep central control.
Fixed mobile convergence
Soon we’ll be seeing business mobiles converged with desk phones. Some devices, such as the Nokia E61, already have the VoIP over WiFi functionality that will allow it to act as an extension to a suitable PBX system.