8 Part I: Information Systems in the Digital Age
INTERACTIVE SESSION: ORGANIZATIONS Running the Business from the Palm of Your Hand
Can you run your company from the palm of your With operations in 60 countries, Dow Corning
hand? Perhaps not entirely, but there are many func- offers more than 7,000 products and services for
tions today that can be performed using an iPhone, consumer and industrial applications, from adhesives
iPad, BlackBerry, or other mobile handheld device. to lubricants, delivered as fluids, solids, gels, and
The BlackBerry has been the favorite mobile powders. A Roambi Visualizer app lets Dow Corning
handheld for business because it was optimized for executives use their iPhones to quickly view and
e-mail and messaging, with strong security and tools analyze real-time data from their core corporate sys-
for accessing internal corporate systems. Now that’s tem, including sales figures, trends, and projections.
changing. Companies large and small are starting to It presents managers with simple, intuitive dash-
deploy Apple’s iPhone and iPad as well as Android boards of complex data. According to Executive Vice
mobile devices to conduct more of their work. They President and Chief Financial Officer Don Sheets,
are enhancing their security systems so that mobile “In 15 seconds I can get a sense of whether there’s
users can remotely access proprietary corporate a financial performance issue I need to get involved
resources with confidence. with.”
For some, these handhelds have become Dow Corning’s Analytics App for the iPhone
indispensible. TCHO Chocolate is a start-up that monitors Web site traffic and online sales for the
uses custom-developed machinery to create unique company’s XIAMETER brand of standard silicone
chocolate flavors. Owner Timothy Childs developed products. Analytics App interfaces with Google
an iPhone app that enables him to remotely log Analytics. When Dow Corning rolls out XIAMETER
into each chocolate-making machine, control time Web sites across the globe, executives will be able to
and temperature, turn the machines on and off, monitor what content is and isn’t being used whether
and receive alerts about when to make tempera- they are home, traveling, or at the office.
ture changes. The iPhone app also enables him to Sunbelt Rentals, based in Fort Mill, South Carolina,
remotely view several video cameras that show how is one of the largest equipment rental companies in the
the TCHO Flavor Lab is doing. TCHO employees United States, with a $2 billion inventory of rental
also use the iPhone to exchange photos, e-mail, and equipment. More than 1,200 company employees,
text messages. including sales staff, field personnel, and executives,
Using handhelds to run the business is not are equipped with iPhones to interact with contacts
limited to small companies. General Electric (GE) and stay abreast of calendar events. In addition to
is one of the world’s largest companies, producing using iPhones for e-mail, scheduling, and contact
aircraft engines, locomotives and other transpor- management, Sunbelt deployed a custom application
tation equipment, kitchen and laundry appliances, called Mobile SalesPro, which ties multiple systems
lighting, electric distribution and control equip- and databases into a single package for the sales team.
ment, generators and turbines, and medical imaging This application connects the corporate point-of-sale
equipment. GE is also a leading provider of financial system, inventory control and management system,
services, aviation, clean energy, media, and health and enterprise system, which integrates data from
care technology. This giant multinational was an many different business functions. Users are able
early adopter of mobile technology. GE employees to share sales quotes based on the most up-to-date
use their iPads to access e-mail, contacts, documents, information on rental rates and equipment availabil-
and electronic presentations. GE’s Mobile Center of ity. With this application, Sunbelt’s sales team can
Excellence has developed dozens of iPhone and iPad respond immediately to customer requests while they
applications, including industry-specific diagnostic are at a job site.
and monitoring tools and business intelligence tools SAP has developed a Business One mobile
that help decision makers find patterns and trends in application for the iPhone, which enables users to
large volumes of data. The company’s Transformer stay connected to business and customer data in real
Monitoring app helps manage gas turbine inventory time when they are away from the office. (Business
and electronic transformers throughout the world, One is a single software system integrating all core
with the ability to zoom in from a global map to a business functions across the company, including
specific transformer and read all of the key perfor- financials, sales, customer relationship management,
mance indicators. A PDS Movement Planner app lets inventory, and operations.)
service personnel monitor railway tracks and obtain The mobile application enables sales managers to
diagnostic information on locomotives. receive alerts on specific events, such as deviations
Chapter 1: Business Information Systems in
In Your Career 9
from approved discounts, while sales reps can retrieve the Business One mobile application to rapidly access
and update customer records as well as manage customer information and changes in margins, prices
their appointments in real time. Managers are able and inventory when traveling away from the office.
to check inventory availability and access detailed
information about products in stock. Management at Sources: Doug Henschen, “Mobilizing Enterprise Apps: The Next Big Leap,”
Information Week, February 12, 2011; Hande Bolukbasi, “Putting the Business
Coolshop.dk, an independent distributor of interactive in the Palm of Your Hand-Literally,” SAPInsider, January 1, 2011; and Apple
entertainment products in the Nordic countries, uses iPhone in Business Profiles, www.apple.com, accessed April 28, 2011.
CASE STUDY QUESTIONS MIS IN ACTION
1. What kinds of applications are described here? What Explore the Web site for either the Apple iPhone, the
business functions do they support? How do they BlackBerry, or an Android smartphone, such as the
improve operational efficiency and decision making? Droid Incredible or Samsung Fascinate, then answer
the following questions:
2. Identify the problems that businesses in this case
study solved by using mobile digital devices. 1. List and describe the capabilities of each of these
devices and give examples of how they could be
3. What kinds of businesses are most likely to benefit
used by businesses.
from equipping their employees with mobile digital
devices such as iPhones, iPads, and BlackBerrys? 2. List and describe three downloadable business apps
for each device and describe their business benefits.
4. One company deploying iPhones has said, “The
iPhone is not a game changer, it’s an industry
changer. It changes the way that you can interact with
your customers and with your suppliers.” Discuss the
implications of this statement.
GLOBALIZATION CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES:
A FLATTENED WORLD
Prior to 1492 and the voyages of Columbus and others to the Americas, there was no truly global
economic system of trade that connected all the continents on earth. After the fifteenth cen-
tury, a global trading system began to emerge. The world trade that ensued after these voyages
Whether it’s attending an
online meeting, checking
orders, working with
files and documents,
or obtaining business
iPhone and iPad Business Applications intelligence, Apple’s
iPhone and iPad offer
1. Salesforce Mobile unlimited possibilities
2. FedEx Mobile for iPhone for business users. Both
3. Cisco WebEx Meeting Center devices have a stunning
4. iSchedule multitouch display, full
5. iWork Internet browsing, digital
6. Documents to Go camera, and capabilities
7. PDF Reader Pro for messaging, voice
8. BizXpenseTracker transmission, and
document management.
These features make
each an all-purpose
platform for mobile
© sd619, 2011, iStockPhoto, LP. computing and business.
