Location: From dial tone to location tone: GPS-enabled handsets prompt new and diverse mobile workforce management applications

Until recently, the primary use of cell phones was still for voice communication and messaging. But that has changed, somewhat, as cell phone providers and their partners have begun identifying new uses for the ever-increasing population of available mobile devices. Besides, wireless carriers see the same kind of saturation in selling voice minutes, especially in mature markets. They are looking for new ways to hold or increase ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) through the use of compelling data applications.

One such innovation has been the role of the handset as a location tool. Computer chips now embedded in many cell phones enable authorized parties to track the location of these devices as they move from one place to another, by leveraging a Global Positioning System (GPS) network.

Known broadly as location-based services for mobile workforce management, these solutions are inexpensive, easy to use, and offer exciting capabilities for improving the productivity of field staff.

Leveraging the power and ubiquity of the Internet, businesses can quickly and accurately track the location of mobile workers in real-time throughout the day, enhancing communications, activity reporting and client services, while eliminating data entry and other nuisances associated with manual processes.

Software vendors helping to bring location-based services to market are writing new applications that extend even further the value of the traditional mobile handset. Today, businesses can add time sheet and job-status reporting to their mobile workforce management applications, as well as cutting-edge features such as geo-fencing, barcode scanning, photography and electronic signature capture.

In addition, the increasing processing power and widespread availability of Java and GPS-enabled phones is now being leveraged for developing compelling applications for the mobile workforce. Short range technologies such as Bluetooth and RFID are providing new avenues to develop applications that blur the lines between field force management, fleet tracking and telematics.

New uses for these tools seem to be cropping up as fast as the capabilities themselves. Each industry—construction, transportation and security companies, as well as federal, state and local government agencies, are among the leading adopters of mobile workforce management services—has developed a unique set of requirements for its solutions, to which software developers are very quickly responding.

Small and midsized businesses are realizing that, to survive, they must utilize technology once limited to larger companies with deeper pockets and more extensive information technology resources. The remainder of this article will consider the opportunities now available to SMBs, highlighting the latest mobile workforce management applications and how businesses are using them today.