Web
Savvy
January 2002
An ongoing technology revolution is
happening. The Web is much more than
just a place to access information
and have a good conversation with
like-minded people. The new digital
infrastructure has enabled transmission
of short messages, in addition to,
or sometimes replacing, voice.
Led by teens around the globe, short
messaging, or “texting,”
is a “fashion” with a
language all its own - acronyms, ring-tones,
and animated images that exclude the
uninitiated and un-hip.
And now business is catching on. In
the January Swarm Report Jonah McLeod
hails the arrival of the mobile computing
revolution. While some firms look
at wireless as an unproven technology,
for many the wireless mantra is becoming
a reality – they see the strategic
advantage of outfitting their employees
with mobile access.
American Airlines uses text messaging
to alert passengers of flight delays.
Real Estate brokers use handheld wireless
enabled devices to connect their field
agents with clients logging onto the
website.
Speaking at the Back on Track America
seminar in Silicon Valley this month,
Damir Perge, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder
of Futuredex, said “Wireless
is the next big thing. It’s
a little later than expected, but
it is definitely here. Futuredex has
just invested in several wireless
technology companies.”
Companies are more willing to pay
for wireless data now than in the
past. "Increasing mobilization
of work forces, together with additional
competitive pressures will drive the
adoption of wireless data," said
Tole Hart, senior industry analyst
for Gartner Dataquest's worldwide
Telecommunications and Networking
group. And the West Side is right
there in the forefront of this revolution.
“Our ‘Office to Go’
wireless applications can have you
online and in touch with your office
anywhere, anytime,” said Avi
Lonstein CEO of Airespring Wireless,
based on the West Side. “Entrepreneurs
with a mobile sales force see the
potential of wireless access. In this
tight economy companies are looking
for every tool they can to improve
productivity.”
“Whatever you can do on your
desktop you can now do in the field,”
explains Lonstein. The Airespring
“Office to Go” has a suite
of industry specific, off the shelf
applications for busy mobile workers
and professionals.
Is it possible the West side will
soon be populated with millions of
mobile wireless devices instead cell
phones – or will it just be
in addition to?
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