Mobile Application Service Providers

A large Fortune 50 company wants to provide its employees "always connected, always online" access to corporate information on a variety of mobile devices. However, getting up to speed on wireless Web technologies and keeping up with the rapid changes in wireless protocols, devices, and markup languages would require a major investment. It is an investment that the Fortune 50 company is not quite ready to make. Instead of building the capabilities internally, they would rather outsource it to a specialist. Fortunately, help is on the way for corporate IT departments that wish to outsource their mobile solutions.

Mobile application service providers (MASPs) help corporate IT departments extend Internet applications to mobile devices. Many businesses have already made or are in the midst of making significant investments in their application infrastructures. These firms must now face the challenge of integrating their existing systems with hundreds of thousands of potential mobile device, application, and connectivity options and combinations. MASPs provide support for a broad range of devices and applications and help their clients avoid restructuring their enterprise applications to meet the needs of specific devices. MASP software and services assist their clients with the complex challenges associated with extending desktop applications to employees, customers, and business partners.

The Value Proposition
The MASP is an intermediary between an increasingly varied and intricate technological environment and firms seeking to implement a mobile strategy. Outsourcing to a MASP can free up a company's IT staff to focus on tasks related to the firm's core competency rather than focusing on implementing a technology based on constantly changing standards in which they have limited expertise. Companies can avoid making additional IT infrastructure investments in equipment, with the associated maintenance and upgrade costs, and in the training and hiring of staff. The MASP model enables the enterprise to rent or, in effect, subscribe to a complete or partial wireless solution.

Hosting is the core service a MASP offers. Hosting services involve both core and value-added offerings. Core offerings are scalable middleware solutions for wireless connectivity, wireless data service connectivity, and a secure network operations center. Value-added offerings include customer support and service, and fulfillment.

Another value provided by MASP are the relationships with the multiple data networks that connect end users to the information no matter where they are. Although several major carriers offer wireless data networks, not a single one offers 100 percent coverage while roaming. Layered on top of the coverage issue are concerns about the pricing plans and limitations on what devices can be used on a network. Some MASPs assume responsibility for negotiating wireless data carrier contracts and ensure that their customers have the coverage they need. The outsourcing of coverage issues and the implied assurance that the enterprise will receive the lowest possible rates are very compelling reasons for working with a MASP.

Another value is the network operations center with security and 24/7 monitoring capability. However, due to the wireless data environment's unique needs, a MASP's network operation center must also perform the following functions:

• It must have explicit procedures for how customer accounts are designed, deployed, and monitored. Potential connectivity, capacity, scalability, and data recovery problems must be identified, and whenever possible resolved, before they inhibit the flow of information.
• It must employ a highly trained and qualified staff to ensure the timely monitoring and maintenance of network operations center processes. Although application data is not stored locally at the operations center, the staff should also be well versed in security issues.

The introduction of any mobile application into a company brings unique technological challenges. A key challenge is how to address the incompatibilities resulting from the diverse array of operating systems, transmission protocols, and end-user devices. It is often recommended that any company considering deploying a wireless data strategy should have at least thought through these issues: