By Dale Troppito and Dawna Paton
We know we promised a drill-down into mobile solutions for the healthcare industry this month, but we thought we'd take a brief hiatus given that it's annual award season in Hollywood. The Oscar ceremonies are upon us, and we thought it fitting to take you on a tour of what's to come when video meets the mobile media industry.
With wireless data transfer rates finally becoming reasonable, VOD (Video On Demand) technology, and more effective compression algorithms, mobile devices are transforming into fully equipped media centers. We can already see it happening in the consumer segment. iPods are becoming the device of choice for compiling our entire personal music libraries, and will soon house our family photo albums as well.
Mobile Java is enabling our favorite video games. Will handhelds and smartphones be the next generation Game Boys? They just might be. Monthly subscription services to on-demand game libraries are just around the corner. But the big question is, how will these rapidly emerging mobile media breakthroughs change the corporate landscape and where will they bring enterprise value?
Staying "in the know"...anytime...anywhere
Just this month, Samsung and Verizon Wireless announced their partnership to offer VCAST multimedia 3G wireless services and VOD, allowing users to now access VCAST applications such as full-color video clips, games, and music videos. Such services will make it possible to provide video news updates to any mobile person. Further, delivery of this information can be highly customized to match the recipient's profile.
Applying these capabilities to enterprise field forces results in each field member getting important news updates that are pertinent to their position and current work assignment. For example, a sales person could receive updates on a competitor's press announcement introducing a new breakthrough technology. A broker could receive up-to-the-minute updates on the world market and financial rate changes.
It's certainly no surprise that an informed field force leads to a more efficient, prepared, and productive sales force. And this usually leads to improved rates in sales closings, and improved strategic decision making.
Mobile e-learning
With the capability of wireless VOD in place, mobile devices are transformed into mobile learning devices. Workforce training is spotty at best for most enterprises. The administration of training often proves logistically difficult, and expensive. Removing the prerequisite classroom and expensive video equipment of the past, or even a wired PC, enables a continuous learning environment for each worker.
