Today not only large corporations and big companies make lot of efforts to go green but even smaller corporations and medium sized businesses are putting their best foot forward in terms of going green. It has to be admitted that many companies in the beginning were using ‘going green’ as their marketing tool to project themselves as an environmentally responsible company. Today however thankfully there is a noticeable shift in the trend. Many companies today are making genuine efforts to help the environment and to leave as small a carbon footprint as possible. Many companies are becoming increasingly responsible in this area.

One of the most effective ways of going green is by using dynamic forms or digital forms instead of paper forms. It is not enough just to add notes such as, “Think of the environment before you print this email.” and “Don’t print this email unless you really need to.” Though such efforts are to be appreciated, they are just passive approaches. You need to take a more proactive and positive approach towards going green and that is the need of the hour. If your company uses a lot of surveys or questionnaires or any other form of information gathering as any part of your business for which you are currently using the conventional paper and pen method, then here is your chance to take that proactive step towards going green.

The whole idea about the ‘going green’ concept is using less resources. When we use digital forms, we will reduce the amount of paper that we use in our operations, this will contribute towards reducing the number of trees that are cut every year and reduce the carbon that is emitted into the environment. That is not everything, you will also use less electricity because you will not need a large team of back office executives processing your forms, and the list of green benefits continues.

When you choose to go green by using digital forms, the benefit is not only to you but also for your budget and profit. Except for the initial setup costs, you will save a considerable amount of money month after month and year after year. This will bring down your overhead costs dramatically. Isn’t this what every company is trying to achieve? Here again, is your chance for cost cutting. Here in this case going green also has an element of selfishness but in the good sense. Going green by the use of web forms, PDA forms and digital forms after all creates a win-win situation for you. When you have nothing to lose but have everything to gain, do not hesitate to make that shift in your organisation.

Forrester have announced what mobility trends can we expect to see in 2010.Forrester, believe that 4G networks will continue to grow, along with the deployment of mobile apps. Devices based on Google's Android operating system may capture up to 10 percent market share. Employees will pressure IT departments to support their personal smartphones and other devices for business use. In addition, cloud-based apps that support the mobile workforce will become more popular.

In 2009, most companies reduced new technology investments in response to the uncertain global economic recession. However, the enterprise mobility picture was more positive as many firms continued to pursue mobility solutions to help them cut costs, improve worker productivity, and enhance business process efficiencies. We predict a more stable economic environment in 2010 and expect mobile network operators to implement programs to drive application development for fourth-generation (4G) and long-term evolution (LTE) networks not only for consumers but also for business. In addition, expect increased vendor and service provider focus on offering machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions to improve business process efficiencies in specific industries (e.g., healthcare, utilities, and the supply chain). More employees will also bring personally selected and purchased mobile devices (e.g., Android smartphones) into the office and use them for work-related mobile applications.

So 2010 is set to be a good year for paper forms to be brought into the new decade by being used electronically.

The UK IT market skipped a heart beat during the past year, however in 2010; it is back to what it does best. Global IT spend will advance by 4.4% led by pent-up demand for software. The leading software market to be in is enterprise software. Enterprise software will be the most lucrative software business to be in, according to Ovum (2009). Lead analysts in the field (Gartner, 2009) propose that the market for large enterprise mobility software is tipped to grow at 9% during 2010, putting enterprise mobility at the forefront in 2010 (Forrester, 2009).

By the end of 2010 the software market will be worth about £6.44 billion. Top ten trends to watch for in 2010 are as follows:

-          Cloud Computing

-          Advanced analytics

-          Client computing

-          IT for green

-          Flash memory

-          Virtualization for availability

-          Mobile applications

-          Reshaping the data centre

-          Social computing

-          Security: active monitoring.

Positively, companies specialising in business applications is a “key growth area,” for the UK software industry will “keep growing” (Gartner, 2009).   

Best practice: Holistic approach

By 2010, 50% of enterprises will have migrated away from tactical mobile application silos (supporting a single application) to strategic platforms capable of supporting multiple applications, managing devices, and securing data and transport.

Gartner, 2007

•          Faster development – A platform approach gets applications into users hands faster, delivering value quicker

•          Shared costs – for mobile infrastructure, development components, and devices

•          Focus on users & processes – remove technology concerns from the hands of the business

Best practice: Measure, Measure, Measure

 Failure to measure benefits and impacts is one of the most commonly seen points of failure in mobile projects

•          The highest performing organisations are ones that focus on measuring their performance

•          Mobile solutions are complex – without the right measurement approach you won’t know what works and what doesn’t

–        Especially for pilots, set aside time to fully analyse results and outcomes

•          It’s easy to fall into a trap where you just become very good at measuring things and generating KPIs

–        Look for “leading indicators” to reduce measurement overhead

Best practice: Human factors & adoption

•          Technology is a tool, not an end in itself

•          Demystify the technology, but hide the complexity

•          The importance of training

•          Workers are influenced by their peers

•          Bad news travels fast

82% of housing departments and associations have stated that mobile working is a priority for them in 2010, yet only 38% have a mobile working strategy in place.

 Integration with other IT applications is the main bug bear faced by housing departments in developing a mobile working strategy. Applications such as Micrsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be intergrated with a mobile IT solution, such as Dynamic Forms. However, according to the poll, the greatest benefits in implementing a mobile working strategy are to provide flexible and innovative ways of working for housing staff (33%) and higher service to citizens (36%).

Housing associations face immense challenges (NHF, 2009). These range from being able to generate tangible savings in 2010, improving ways of working for staff and enhancing service for citizens. Housing associations are coming around to the idea that mobile working strategies can deliver innovative, yet practical, ways of solving these challenges.

An example of mobile working initiative is to give field staff handheld devices to carry out updates on repairs and timesheets while they are out visiting customers which are logged on completion. Immediate benefits in achieving efficiency improvements.  In addition to reducing levels of manual data entry, fuel and inventory costs will decrease and there have been significant gains in productivity.

Visit igroup at the premier IT exhibition in social housing on the 17 – 18 November, Olympia, London.

IT in Housing Exhibition is the UK’s largest and most highly acclaimed housing technology exhibition.

The exhibition, which forms the focal point of the National Housing Federation’s IT in Housing Conference, is now in its 10 year, and offers delegates and visitors an excellent one-stop opportunity to explore the latest innovations, products and services from 80 leading ICT suppliers to the housing sector.

Visit igroup Ltd to experience demos of Dynamic Forms, and talk to our team to discuss your mobile IT needs.

Entry to the exhibition is free of charge.

Housing Associations belong in the community, not behind a desk. Many housing organisations are already reaping the rewards of today’s technologies. According to the Future Work Forum, one in three UK workers does at least part of their work each week away from their desk. Millions of working hours each day are spent working in the community, undertaking surveys, assessing houses fit for purpose.  With growing awareness of flexible and remote working, the challenge is to enable workers in the field, or at remote locations, to be as productive and efficient as they possibly can be in the housing sector.

One part of the solution is to deploy mobile technology to provide the housing sector workers with access to job-related information wherever they are based. The potential benefits of mobile working are positively compelling: the UK government estimates the public sector could save up to £336 million a year through mobile technology.  These savings would be generated through reduced office costs, efficiency savings, service improvement and improved quality of data.

Rob Bamforth, research analyst with Quocirca stated that “the ‘real’ work is outside the office” meaning that housing associations could benefit enormously from mobile working. “Providing access to IT on the move saves time, and therefore makes the individual more productive.”

For example, the London Borough of Sutton achieved 47% efficiency savings when it provided staff with tablet PCs to record the results of interviews. Computerising the process has reduced errors and also means the results can be processed more easily – a typical house survey can now be processes in less than one week, compared to five weeks previously.

In Sheffield, 84 local councillors have been provided with PDA’s allowing them to electronically record requests, complaints and repairs, which are automatically sent back to the council’s contact centre. This system saves each councillor around three hours per week in paperwork and administration, translating into a major financial saving for the council.

Achieving the benefits of mobile computing isn’t always straightforward. One of the biggest challenges with mobile computing deployment is a lack of knowledge and a lack of planning. Local authorities can access expert advice and support for mobile project from igroup ltd, which has successfully completed a number of mobile projects in the housing sector/ public sector.

The only competitive advantage remaining today for any business, irrespective of what industry you’re in, irrespective of where you reside on this planet, is the ability to obtain and act on information ahead of your competition. No matter what business you’re in, whether it's oil and gas, whether you’re in healthcare, whether you’re a logistics company, it doesn’t make any difference. Your ability to get information into the hands of people who need that information, and enable them to act on and interact with that information before the competition can is what's going to make a difference in terms of business success.  So that should be a good motivator for you to start thinking about mobilising people. If they are out and about, working with customers directly involved in business activities, they need access to your network, they need access to IT resources, and they need to do it faster than the competition can. 

Core Objectives for Contemporary Mobility

 Minimise, if not eliminate, the behavioural and performance differences that exist between wire line and wireless capabilities: 

• Throughput

• Reliability/Availability

• Access to applications and data  

Wireless can do anything that wire can do, and without the need to find a place to plug in: 

• Location-independence, virtual office

• Any application Extending mobile user base beyond service, sales, vertical markets, etc. 

The Future of IT…is in mobility 

• Mobilising all enterprise IT services and capabilities

• Wireless as the default or even primary vehicle

• Advances in technologies, standards, networks, devices

• As with wire (and just about everything else in business), the key is management

• Maximise productivity – ease of use, transparency

• Reduce costs – time saving, administration costs etc.   

CN50 Mobile ComputerThe Industry’s most advanced rugged mobile computer 

The CN50 is the ONLY wireless mobile computer that combines small and light-weight form factor with a rugged design to deliver that most advanced, high performance voice and data communication solution specifically designed for the HIGHLY mobile field worker.

The CN50 is the first device in the industry to offer a 3.75G wireless WAN Flexible Network™ Radio, the CN50 allows enterprises to finally standardize on a single hardware platform that can be configured for either CDMA or UMTS wireless networks. This gives enterprises the flexibility to choose the network that provides the best geographic coverage and the lowest cost

Intermac introduced the CN50 mobile computer as “a new class of device” and “game-changing product”, referring to the small, light and rugged computer’s support of 3.5 G and 3. 75G wireless wide area network HSUPA radio technology that can result in data upload speeds up to five times faster than any other mobile computer available.

The Intermec CN50 stresses secure standards, customer satisfaction, maximized ROI as well as total cost of ownership, all mandating a new generation of smaller, lighter mobile computers with advanced performance and features.

Intermec saythat the device is 25% smaller and lighter than similar mobile products, with dimensions of 6.05 x 2.9 x 1.1 inches and weighing about 11 ounces. That's very compact by rugged handheld standards without a doubt, and the CN50, on top of including more functions than a Swiss army knife, is amazingly tough. It can survive 5-foot drops, operate in a wide temperature range of 14 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, and is sealed to IP54 specifications, which means its pretty much dustproof and can survive water spray from all directions. Further proof that this is a state-of-the-art device is the integrated 3.1-megapixel coloured camera with auto-focus, flash, an integrated digital compass for enhanced GPS functionality, and an accelerometer that handles display orientation and much more. For data capture, there is an integrated 1-megapixel area imager with laser framer and aiming that supports omnidirectional scanning and decodes of 1D, 2D, composite and postal codes as well as signature capture.

The CN50 also supports eMDI (Enhanced Mobile Document Imaging), an optional Intermec software application that lets mobile workers capture full page paper documents with the CN4's imager and convert them into electronic documents right at the point-of-transaction. These high-quality document images can then be transmitted to back office applications in real-time, potentially simplifying workflows, shorten billing cycles, and providing customer service and shipping operations ready access to documents for faster processing.

The CN50 is available with either a numeric or QWERTY with backlit keypad. Among other accessories are a vehicle holder, quad battery charger, four-bay multi-dock for charge only or charge and Ethernet, as well as various RAM mount options. Whereas mobile computers almost exclusively used Intel XScale processors in the past, there are now other options.

The CN50 uses a multi-core architecture with a 528MHz ARM11-based main processor and an ARM9-based radio processor, likely a Qualcomm combo. It runs Windows Mobile 6.1, has 128MB of RAM and 512MB of Flash ROM, a 3.5-inch 240 x 320 pixel transflective displays with LED backlight, but apparently no expansion slot(s). The device is powered by either a standard 3.7V, 1,950mAh battery or an extended battery that packs 3,900mAH, but does not add to the size of the device. In summary, the Intermec CN50 packs an awful lot of data capture, computing and communication functionality for mobile workers who rely on "hold & carry" customer interaction and appreciate a single device that combines all their needed tools into a single, rugged, compact package.

See http://www.ruggeddirect.co.uk/ on details of how to purchase and for more information.

- Despite the global recession 26% of enterprises are planning to increase their IT budget in North America, Europe and the Middle East in the fourth quarter of 2009 and into 2010.

- Adoption of enterprise mobility solutions is set to increase in 2010.

- A survey of 1110 IT decision makers in 2009 found that in the next two years 38% of enterprises will have deployed a mobility solution, up from 29% in 2008.

- Healthcare will lead growth in mobility solutions adoption

- Mobile technology is evolving to suit the changing demands of mobile workers

- Investing in mobility solutions benefits the whole organisation, not just the mobile employees.

Has your organisation developed a mobility solution?

sept 2009.pdf (806.10 kb)

igroup have launched their September 2009 newsletter which can be found on www.igroupltd.co.uk.

By reading igroup's monthly newsletter find out about what igroup are up to, what new prodcuts and services we offer and updates on igroup's staff and customers.

Each month you can read how igroup have helped their client's to run faster with increased efficiency and productivity whilst being more competitive and helping them to cut cost's. Find out where you can see igroup at trade show's and seminars, and if you can't make it, updates on how they went will be published in the newsletter and igroup will add pictures of its staff at events, seminars and with clients.

On Wednesday 28th October igroupltd are being joined by Microsoft and Accenture to conduct a FREE seminar centred around mobile computing, mobility, mobile field data collection and SharePoint.

BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE NOW. Either follow the link or email: seminars@igroupltd.co.uk, call: 0845 838 2184. Visit us at http://www.igroupltd.co.uk/ / www.dynamic-forms.net/Pages/Home.aspx

 Book before the 5th October and recieve a Free White Paper on Mobile Computing!

GUEST SPEAKERS Peter Daley, senior manager in Accenture’s Mobile Solutions practice, will be givign a talk on enterprise mobility, industry trends, mobile computing and where the market is going. Peter is responsible for Accenture’s European Field Force Transformation offering, using mobile technology and business change to drive increased effectiveness for distributed workforces. In addition, Jessica Meats Microsoft's Partner Technology Specialist in SharePoint and InfoPath, who focuses on business processes and forms.