July/Aug 2004

Mobile workers can access corporate databases from the field on a handheld computer under an all-in hosted service called mobileprofessional from Crimson Tide. The company is promoting it as the first subscription-based service to provide secure real-time access to customer database and job details - a bold claim. It is charging £85 per user per month all-in - a rate which it believes has considerable attractions for smaller companies.

For your money, you certainly get lots of potential uses. The company says the system can allow users to resolve billing enquiries and update customer histories on the spot; generate an invoice within minutes of securing an order; or even give directions via a satellite navigation system.

More important, it is being promoted as very much a system for non-IT people. The company sets up each system to work with the user's specific company database. Mobile workers use a handheld computer, which is linked via wireless Bluetooth technology to a mobile phone which is used to dial up your database.

Equipment supported by the company includes Pocket PCs, mobile phones and Blackberry mobile email devices.