September 2002

If you want to set up your own mobile data network to help youcommunicate with your field staff, but don't want the hassle of specifying all the components and setting up the infrastructure, Symbol could have just the answer for you.

The company has launched a turnkey mobile data package called SymbolAir, which specifically targets medium-sized UK companies with between 50 and 500 mobile staff.

For around £200 a month, you get a Symbol handheld computer, connection to either O2 or Orange GRPS networks, use of a dedicated SymbolAir server and call centre, and access to server-based applications software. The fee includes around a megabyte of data traffic per user per month.

Two models of handheld are offered. The PPT 2837 is considered ideal for straightforward data collection, and has just a small touch-screen, while the PDT8137 with its alphanumeric keyboard is a better option if names and other alpha data have to be keyed in.

 

The option of choosing either O2 or Orange networks is intended to give the SymbolAir package the widest appeal and minimise the barrier of having to switch network providers when deploying a mobile solution. The amount of inclusive data traffic can be adjusted to suit predicted levels.

According to Neil Bonner, SymbolAir's senior manager for mobile devices, one of the key attractions of the system is its scaleability. "Implementation time is fast, and the system can be rolled out little by little."

He says the package is aimed at companies who know that they would benefit from mobilising their workforce but do not have the resources and management time to implement it - and may find the benefits hard to quantify. "Soft benefits like improved company image are hard to put in financial terms - especially when you don't know precisely what those costs will be. SymbolAir has transparent costs with which you can compare the value of having customer data in real time."

Mobile data service integrator Hugh Symons and its Wireless Data Systems subsidiary will provide the dedicated SymbolAir server and call centre facilities. "SymbolAir is not just a way of hosting and running applications differently. Our aim is to provide customers with a complete managed solution, not a box of bits which they have to put together."