B2B Integration : A Practical Guide to Collaborative E-commerce

Wireless Technologies 375
a vendor's software product often include reduced time-to-market and
lower cost. However, the disadvantages of these products are limited
customizability or adaptability to the unique methods of a business
operation. In addition, these off-the-shelf products may not be easily
extensible when new technological developments appear. It is important
to remember that because mobile technology is developing rapidly,
with new devices, networks and protocols continually emerging, the
adaptability that custom development brings may be an essential element
of a long-term strategy.
Many ways to data transmission
Data transmission refers to the means by which data is sent and
received by a mobile device. When thinking about data transmission, it
is important to consider a variety of factors relating to how the eventual
mobile application will be built and how it will actually be used in the
field. The right solution for one's company will depend on a number of
issues, such as timeliness and time-sensitivity of information, as well as
geographic coverage.
Real-time wireless versus 'synchable' data
The choice between wireless and 'synchable' wireless solutions depends
primarily on the time sensitivity of the data at hand. Many quite useful
mobile applications never establish a wireless connection to the Internet.
Instead, they synchronize locally stored data with that on a server.
'Synchable' solutions are often superior when large amounts of
information are to be transferred. This is because they rely on a serial
port or an even faster Universal Serial Bus (USB) connection. In a
practical sense, sending a megabyte of data over most current wireless
networks would be all but impossible, as their limited bandwidth would
reduce the data flow to a trickle. Another factor to consider in deciding
between 'synchable' and real-time wireless is network coverage. If
users will frequently be in locations where a wireless carrier's bearer
network coverage is spotty or absent, even the most powerful mobile
application will be of little value.