K.C. Bolton:
Wireless--Make No Mistake, It's Here to Stay
I must confess I am not much of a consistent blogger. Not because I don't have anything to say, but because I am so busy in the doing of things that I can't see to make the time to talk about them. This is my poor apology for 'a day' as mentioned below stretching to nearly a month. Maybe its like in dog years;-)
The Boston Wireless Expo was a fascinating trip, but only on one level for me. The entire event seemed to center around security, security, security. That's great, but I left hunkering for more meatier subjects (hey, I'm an end user. Security of the network is not something I care to spend 3 days talking about). In particular, I was looking for how wireless will transform industries with some lessons learned. Some of the smart folks out there are thinking: DUH! You won't have to stay tethered to the building anymore. That's a one dimensional view imho. I would have liked to see a wireless healthcare break out session, one for retail stores, etc. How will wireless change healthcare and with some specifics. And research to support the view that wireless is better. [Patient Encounter Total Time reduced by X mins. Processing of billing paperwork streamlined by...you get the picture}
Let me talk about an obvious combination: Wireless + Tablet PC + Groove. A wireless network is not needed unless you have devices that can leverage its untethered nature. We are beta testing wireless as we speak, and we are passing around a TPC loaner from a vendor. One school of thought is that these two technologies should be viewed separate and that's correct. Don't build a wireless network just to work with a specific computing platform/vendor, and don't pick a TPC that will work with your configuration of a wireless network. But...testing wireless is more than walking around your office looking for signal degradation. That says nothing about how users will adopt and internalize wireless. In the same vein, don't look at a Tablet PC that's connected to your LAN and make assumptions about how the end user will like it. They will like it a whole lot more if its used in conjunction with wireless and your test should focus on how things interact (TPC and Wireless) in a joint deployment.
Enter Groove. Groove can be seen as a way to wrap a huge chunk of wireless computing in a secure environment. Its a backup security measure that enhances already included protocols embedded into wireless hardware and management software. NOW...evaluate Groove on a TPC in a wireless environment. Did I mention the whole focus on security left me wanting more? Yep...they should have included a session on Groove in Boston.
I am leading up to this thought: it is no leap of faith to predict that wireless will become so ubitiquous that it will be transparent to the user. We are maybe 3 years from total saturation of wireless in one form or fashion. Maybe then we'll stop talking about security and more about how to squeeze productivity out of continual connection to the Internet. I only hope so.
12:48:00 PM 
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