MIS

Can you run your company from the palm of your

hand? Perhaps not entirely, but there are many

functions today that can be performed using an

iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or other mobile handheld

device.

The BlackBerry used to be the favorite mobile

handheld for business because it was optimized

for e-mail and messaging, with strong security

and tools for accessing internal corporate sys-

tems. Now that’s changing. Companies large

and small are starting to deploy Apple’s iPhone

and iPad as well as Android mobile devices to

conduct more of their work. They are enhanc-

ing their security systems so that mobile users

can remotely accessing proprietary corporate

resources with confidence.

For some, these handhelds have become indis-

pensible. Eric Jackson is a champion kayaker who

spends half of each year following competitions

and events throughout North America. He’s also

president of Jackson Kayak, the leading whitewater

kayak manufacturer. It’s essential that he partici-

pate in athletic events, monitor industry trends in

the field, and meet directly with dealers and cus-

tomers. Jackson’s strong customer focus has helped

the company expand successfully worldwide, with

distributors on six continents. With the iPhone and

iPad, Jackson claims he can run the entire 120-per-

son company from afar.

Jackson’s Wi-Fi-equipped RV connects wirelessly

to the company headquarters in Sparta, Tennessee.

When Jackson’s not on Wi-Fi, he uses his iPad 3G cel-

lular connection. The iPad gives him instant access

to his entire operation, so he can analyze customer

data, refresh Web site content, or approve new

designs. Jackson’s iPad includes calendars, e-mail,

contact management, and the ability to create and

edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations—all

the tools this executive needs to communicate with

the home office, dealers, and customers.

Back at the shop, Jackson Kayak’s managers and

employees find iPad and iPhone equally invaluable.

In the factory, Chief Operations Officer John Ratliff

can compare Jackson Kayak’s manufacturing equip-

ment side-by-side with images of replacement parts

on the iPad to make sure he’s getting the correct

pieces. The iPhone and iPad have become so indis-

pensable that the company outfitted its entire work-

force, from customer service, to design, to quality

control, with iPhones. Many have iPads as well.

Using handhelds to run the business is not lim-

ited to small companies. General Electric (GE) is

one of the world’s largest companies, producing

aircraft engines, locomotives and other transporta-

tion equipment, kitchen and laundry appliances,

lighting, electric distribution and control equip-

ment, generators and turbines, and medical imag-

ing equipment. GE is also a leading provider of

financial services, aviation, clean energy, media,

and health care technology. This giant multina-

tional was an early adopter of mobile technology.

GE employees use their iPads to access e-mail,

contacts, documents, and electronic presentations.

GE’s Mobile Center of Excellence has developed

dozens of iPhone and iPad applications, including

industry-specific diagnostic and monitoring tools

and business intelligence tools that help decision

makers find patterns and trends in large volumes

of data. The company’s Transformer Monitoring

app helps manage gas turbine inventory and

electronic transformers throughout the world,

with the ability to zoom in from a global map to a

specific transformer and read all of the key perfor-

mance indicators. A PDS Movement Planner lets

service personnel monitor railway tracks and obtain

diagnostic information on locomotives.

With operations in 60 countries, Dow Corning

offers more than 7,000 products and services

for consumer and industrial applications, from

adhesives to lubricants, delivered as fluids, solids,

gels, and powders. The Roambi Visualizer app

lets Dow Corning executives use their iPhones

to quickly view and analyze real-time data from

their core corporate system, including sales fig-

ures, trends, and projections. It presents managers

with simple, intuitive dashboards of complex data.

According to Executive Vice President and Chief

Financial Officer Don Sheets, in 15 seconds he can

get a sense of whether there’s a financial perfor-

mance issue he needs to get involved with.

Dow Corning’s Analytics App for the iPhone

monitors Web site traffic and online sales for the

company’s XIAMETER brand of standard silicone

products. Analytics App interfaces with Google

Analytics. When Dow Corning rolls out XIAMETER

Web sites across the globe, executives can monitor

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MIS_13_Ch_01_Global.indd 39 1/17/2013 2:24:22 PM

1. What kinds of applications are described here?

What business functions do they support?

How do they improve operational efficiency and

decision making?

2. Identify the problems that businesses in this case

study solved by using mobile digital devices.

3. What kinds of businesses are most likely to

benefit from equipping their employees with

mobile digital devices such as iPhones and iPads?

what content is and isn’t being used whether they

are home, traveling, or at the office.

Sunbelt Rentals, based in Fort Mill, South

Carolina, is one of the largest equipment rental

companies in the United States, with a $2 billion

inventory of rental equipment. More than 1,200

company employees, including sales staff, field personnel, and executives, are equipped with

iPhones to interact with contacts and stay abreast

of calendar events. In addition to using iPhones

for e-mail, scheduling, and contact management,

Sunbelt deployed a custom application called

Mobile SalesPro, which ties multiple systems and

databases into a single package for the sales team.

4. One company deploying iPhones has said: The

iPhone is not a game changer, it’s an industry

changer. It changes the way that you can interact

with your customers and with your suppliers.

Discuss the implications of this statement.

This application connects the corporate point-of-

sale system, inventory control and management

system, and enterprise system, which integrates

data from many different business functions. Users

are able to share sales quotes based on the most

up-to-date information on rental rates and equip-

ment availability. With this application, Sunbelt’s

sales team can respond immediately to customer

requests while they are at a job site.

Sources: “Apple IPhone in Business” and “Apple iPad in Business,"

www.apple.com, accessed September 6, 2012; Erik Eckel, “What

the IPhone5 Will Offer Business Users,” TechRepublic, September

5, 2012; and Doug Henschen, “Mobilizing Enterprise Apps:

The Next Big Leap,” Information Week, February 12, 2011.

C A S E S T U D Y Q U E S T I O N S

Whether it’s attending an online meeting, checking orders, working with files and documents, or obtaining business intelligence, Apple’s iPhone and iPad offer unlimited possibilities for business users. Both devices have a stunning multitouch display, full Internet browsing, digital camera, and capabilities for messag- ing, voice transmission, and document management. These features make each an all-purpose platform for mobile computing.

iPhone and iPad Business Applications:

1. Salesforce Mobile

2. Cisco WebEx

3. iSchedule

4. iWork

5. Documents To Go

6. PDF Reader Pro

7. BizXpenseTracker

8. Dropbox

© STANCA SANDA / Alamy

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