Magazine Article | June 1, 2002

Making Your Millions (Or Billions) In The Next Wireless Frontier

Wireless-enabling legacy and e-applications is the wave of the future. Are you ready?

Business Solutions, June 2002
Written by: Steven Hulaj, Nextair

If you look back to 1995, you will remember the enormous business opportunities that existed for converting software application user screens to Internet browser-based windows. Billions of dollars were made, and the dot-com bubble grew to massive proportions. We all know this bubble was overweight. However, as a result of this trend toward e-enabling business software, most of today's serious applications have some Web component. Ask yourself: Would you buy a business software application today that can't be used from home or a customer site via a browser?

But, do you know what the next wave is? It's w-enabling - or wireless-enabling - these legacy or e-applications. Mark my words, this market will be huge. In five years, every single business application will have some form of wireless PDA (personal digital assistant) front end to it. If you are a software developer, or even if you just sell someone else's software, the question you should be asking yourself is, "What can I do to take advantage of this wireless opportunity?"

First, you should understand the potential of the wireless marketplace. For instance, by 2003, wireless devices like PDAs and mobile phones are expected to surpass the number of personal computers used today. Furthermore, more than 1.5 billion handheld devices will be equipped with wireless capabilities by 2004, according to industry estimates. This should mean a boon for wireless data carriers. However, corporate deployment of mobile business applications is not meeting expectations. Witness the red ink the wireless carriers are currently bleeding.

Wireless Deployments On Hold
Wireless connectivity from corporate software applications to WAP (wireless application protocol) phones or browser-capable handheld devices is in place today. Nevertheless, many companies are slamming on the brakes for further wireless deployments. They are doing so because WAP and browser applications only function when a device is connected (if it can get a connection at all). And, these applications cost money every second a person uses them. You cannot use a WAP solution reliably while deep inside a building, and you cannot enter data on a PDA without the application being connected to the network.

Development Platform Choices Are Changing
Industry pundits say corporations must rewrite mobile applications from scratch so the software will function at the device level rather than being fed from HTML or WAP servers. Until recently, this functionality required a significant amount of mobile device programming knowledge, network middleware, and device API (application program interface) programming experience. However, some new technologies are about to change this requirement. J2ME from Sun is one such solution, but it will be years - if it ever happens - before the middleware to make this new Java version a reality is adopted. Microsoft's new SmartPhone and PocketPC development environments are another solution. However, these are device-operating specific, which means users must have those devices or must once again rewrite a software application. Even RIM and Nokia are in the game with their own proprietary toolsets. Some new wireless development tools are device-independent and allow for limitless choices, but you need to know which path to take.

However you decide to enter this wireless foray, there is no question that a vast opportunity awaits those that take the early steps to become the technological pioneers and market leaders. This marketplace is very fragmented at present. While many companies have substantial practices with software application and customer consulting, most wireless development efforts have been contained to WAP solutions.

A great deal of information on development platform choices can be sourced through the Internet at the following: