We are witnessing the golden age of mobile technology. More and more business sectors — including government, financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and logistics, legal, construction and onsite managed services — have begun to apply this technology to areas where the integration of real-time information can drastically improve process quality.

The results have been nothing short of remarkable.

By extending enterprise applications via mobile devices, many organizations have been able to achieve competitive advantages. They have managed to make faster, better decisions, tighten their processes and increase their responsiveness to customers.
 

The Impact of Mobile Applications by Industry
In the beginning, mobile email changed the way companies did business. Now, the mobile deployment of enterprise applications is bringing about even more substantial improvements. Here are some noteworthy examples:

Within the government sector, mobile applications are being used to support public safety, law enforcement and municipal compliance activities. For instance, one state's Office of the Attorney General is providing agents in the field with BlackBerry® devices so that they can quickly access information on suspects in order to increase their effectiveness in arresting and prosecuting criminals.

In financial services, some companies are using BlackBerry devices to give their representatives easy access to real-time data on their clients' portfolios during meetings. This allows them to respond to queries instantly and seize opportunities faster.

In manufacturing, there are companies using BlackBerry solutions to make split-second adjustments to their production process based on their inbound supply chain. In the future, many of them will use their devices to better monitor production-line activity and perform real-time quality control reporting.

Healthcare providers are using BlackBerry solutions to improve both quality control and efficiency in clinical care environments. Some are even using their BlackBerry devices to issue prescriptions wirelessly as well as access electronic physician drug reference and patient-specific drug information.

In the transportation and logistics sector, there is a company using BlackBerry devices to give its drivers access to real-time dispatch data from its back-end systems. This allows them to keep dispatchers up to date on their status and availability and allows drivers to proactively plan their routes.

In the legal community, there are firms using BlackBerry devices to access case files and motions from within their internal case management systems. Other firms have reduced administrative costs by allowing lawyers to input data directly into billing systems via their devices.

Construction companies are using BlackBerry solutions to enable project managers to update project data at their work site. This allows them to keep their clients up-to-date on details — and makes it easier for them to solve problems onsite, reducing costly delays.

An onsite managed services organization is using BlackBerry solutions to provide technicians with access to its CRM system used to store, track and analyze customer metrics. This has rendered their customer information more up-to-date and useful.

See what some of these applications look like.

 

Case Study: Broward County Emergency Management
Headquartered in Plantation, Florida, a town often hit by hurricanes, the Broward County Emergency Management Agency needed the means to respond as quickly and effectively as possible in the state of an emergency.

The solution involved the utilization of mobile devices that gave field staff the ability to report in real time from wherever they were located. They can make database entries directly from their BlackBerry devices or access status information to find out what is happening at a particular location. Additionally, this solution improves service quality by automating the tracking of agency relief efforts to ensure proper follow-through has been completed.

Soon, the Agency plans to make mobility a key part of its unfolding CRM initiative, allowing them to better serve their customers. For instance, field staff will be able to report potholes and broken streetlights directly to the CRM database using their BlackBerry devices.
 

The Future of Mobile Applications
Mobile devices are a gateway to enterprise resources. In the years to come, we can expect more and more companies in all sectors to capitalize on the advantages of mobile applications. We anticipate that they will reap the benefits associated with alert based automation, improved data transparency throughout the process cycle and improved efficiency. Benefits that will include increased customer satisfaction and cost reductions.

More Information:

• Read the full IDC white paper, "Business Benefits of Industry-Specific Mobile Applications" (PDF format)
   
• Video: Technology That Transforms Business > click the link in the top right box
   
• BlackBerry Business Solutions for government, legal, financial services, healthcare, transportation, real estate, public safety, manufacturing and more
   
• BlackBerry Business Solutions for Sales Force Automation, Field Service, Business Intelligence
   
• Visit blackberry.com/go/businesssolutions