Wireless information management, a review

Andrew Olsen

Wireless Information Management:
By Ron Elliot
A Review :

University of Maryland University College

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Abstract

Wireless technology is taking the world by storm. Everyone from businesses, families, and

governments are using wireless technology and it is only going to continue to expand. There are

many wireless systems available, but the most innovative are those that include Blackberry and

Bluetooth technology. As wireless technologies expand, there have been many device and

network trends, such as multi-function devices being developed, growing number of java-equipped

mobile devices, and integrating wireless with Internet. Third-generation (3G), WiFi, and Bluetooth

are the future of wireless networks. With the growth of wireless systems, there are a growing

number of challenges that have to be faced, like security and multiple wireless standards and the

affect it has on corporate information. It is imperative that businesses have a strategy to deal with

wireless information and it is information managers that must be prepared for any unforeseen

inefficiency arising from the use of wireless technologies with respect to data storage, information

retrieval, and content reliability.

Introduction

Wireless technology is taking the world by storm. Businesses, families, and governments

all around the world are embracing the wireless concept and it is going to continue to increase by

dramatic numbers. Wireless technologies are becoming the central means of business and are

increasing the quality and timeliness of information available. Many companies are now using

wireless-enabled pocket PCs, palm devices and a variety of other handheld computing products

that can run multiple applications. Wireless devices allow workers to stay productive and available

even while mired in meetings and away from their office desktops because they will have access to

corporate data, e-mail, IM, and the Internet (Ellison, 2003). It is these inherent advantages that

that make wireless systems the future of communications.

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As wireless technology expands, wireless management tools are becoming an absolute

necessity. Wireless devices have matured from being fringe devices to those that require

management to integrate with the rest of the business (NOVELL: 2001). However, businesses are

just beginning to confront wireless management issues (Hamblen, 2001) and understand its

importance. Wireless network-management tools let companies monitor traffic levels, ensure

security, assist capacity planning, and provide an overall picture of network health. It also presents

savings opportunities in both costs and resources. Wireless management is going to continue to

be a big issue in the near future and this article discusses the important issues that surround

wireless information management.

Wireless Information Management: Summary

This article delves into growing use of wireless systems in the business community and the

difficulties that have evolved from trying to manage the information from these various wireless

devices. It first examines the various wireless systems that are currently available. There are

those lacking, as yet, wireless telecommunications facilities, such as personal digital assistants

(PDAs) and pocket PCs. Then there are those with user-controlled connection to a wireless

facility, such as mobile phones, text-based phones and Internet phones. Finally, there are those

wireless devices that are always connected, such as pagers, e-mail devices and Bluetooth devices.

From there it examines current wireless networking device trends, such as 3G, WiFi, and

Bluetooth and explains how wireless technology impacts information management today and in the

future. There are also a variety of challenges that have an immediate impact on managing

information. Some of the issues wireless information managers face is ensuring that information

from remote devices is transferred to corporate memory, maintaining the integrity of the original

record, and most importantly, protecting the information in a handheld device from unauthorized

use.

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Wireless management issues are just now being confronted and will continue to be an

issue in the near future. This article stresses the importance of wireless information management

and how it will allow businesses to understand and prepare for further changes and challenges in

wireless technology.

Wireless Systems

Communication is key in any business setting and having a quality wireless system(s)

allows employees to work and more importantly communicate while they are out of the office.

There are various wireless systems currently available such as personal digital assistants (PDAs),

pocket PCs, mobile (cell, text-based, Internet) phones, pagers, and Blackberry and Bluetooth

devices. Choosing what wireless system is best all depends on your business needs.

Of the various wireless systems, it is Blackberry and Bluetooth devices that are the most

innovative. Blackberry is a handheld device made by RIM (Research In Motion) and is marketed

primarily for its wireless e-mail handling capability (Yager, 2003). It also provides expanded Web

and wireless phone service (Strupp, 2003). Blackberry is also a PDA, which can include software

for maintaining an integral address book and personal calendar, while also being configured as a

pager. It is also licensing its technology to a number of wireless companies in order to expand

their market penetration.

Bluetooth is a short-range wireless specification that allows for radio connections between

devices within a short distance of each other. This allows users of cell phones, pagers, and PDAs

to be able to buy a three-in-one phone that can double as a portable phone at home or in the office

and have all mobile and fixed computer devices be totally coordinated (Cummings, 2003).

Bluetooth can transfer appointments, contacts, images, audio clips, and Java programs between

wireless and fixed devices (Yager, 2003).

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Bluetooth and Blackberry devices make it possible for one device to have multiple

functions and eliminate the need for a variety of wireless devices. Everyone will be wireless at

some point in time, but the speed at which they achieve that will also depend on their business.

However, it is these devices that are taking wireless systems into the future and will become the

standard.

Wireless Trends

As wireless becomes part of everyday life, there are numerous developments that will

continue to expand wireless device and network reach. Wireless users can send photos, audio,

video, and text data to virtually any other kind of device. There has been a rise of combination

devices that perform PDA and cell phone functions. In addition, there is continuous development

of multi-function wireless devices that include telephone service, e-mail, Web browsing, gaming

and instant messaging, which integrates wireless with the Internet (Marshall. 2003). Java-enabled

mobile units have also continued to rise rapidly and Nokia believes that they will have sold 100

million Java-enabled cell phones in roughly three years (Perez, 2001). More specifically, there are

companies that are working to enable cell phone users to access PC desktops and run Windows

applications from a connected PDA and send email, and access and manage Outlook calendar

and contact data from a mobile phone (DEMOmobile…, 2003), just to name a few.

With wireless devices comes the need for wireless networks. Currently, there are three

major networks: third-generation (3G), WiFi, and Bluetooth. 3G networks are targeted towards

cell-phone users and are suppose to be able to carry voice calls in higher volumes, but have yet to

meet any of their expectations. This was due to unrealistic projections by operators, complexities

in network infrastructure, handset interoperability, and stringent regulatory conditions (3G…, 2003).

In addition, it is still being determined whether or not implementing 3G networks are economical

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because of the cost associated with it. However, it is believed that by next year 3G will peak,

mainly due to an expected thirst for voice capacity (3G…, 2003).

WiFi capabilities are now standard in most computers (WiFi…, 2003) and are expected to

grow. This is partially attributed to the fact that its first product certifications under the new WiFi

Protected Access (WPA) specification were announced this year (Lawson, 2003). WiFi is also

growing because it can provide the high bandwidth and low costs per megabyte needed for PC

applications (Keene, 2003). This has lead WiFi to be included with many new notebook and PDA

purchases during 2003 and should reached 80% of all commercial notebooks by 2005 (Keene,

2003).

Bluetooth has been promoted as the technology that would banish all cables, but it has

been slowed since the arrival of 802.11 technologies (Wireless ways…, 2003). Unlike 802.11,

Bluetooth moves data short distances enabling devices such as printers, notebooks, and headsets

to talk to one another (Bluetooth, 2003). It has found a niche with PDAs, but Bluetooth technology

is expanding to include printers, notebooks, and cameras. There is also an adapter, which

attaches to a USB port, that can allow non-Bluetooth PCs and notebooks to integrate with other

Bluetooth devices (Brown, 2003). Bluetooth has grown so much that shipments of the short-range

wireless technology exceeded 1 million units per week worldwide during the third quarter (Meyer,

2003) and it is believed that by 2007 more than 433 million Bluetooth devices will ship worldwide,

with an estimated market penetration of 74% (Logitech…, 2003).

Wireless Challenges

With wireless systems becoming the standard, along with the various wireless

developments, there are numerous challenges that face wireless users. The most contentious

issue has been information security and will be a major issue for the foreseeable future

(Anonymous, 2003).

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Security concerns are a major obstacle to wireless technology, but is at the center of every

wireless initiative. Wireless data transmissions are not yet secure because data is broadcast by

radio waves and can be inadvertently transmitted to other devices. Security, network, and radio

frequency management tools are still in their infancy (Cox, 2003). The range of potential wireless

security breaches increases as wireless hot spots proliferate in public places and wireless

company networks expand (Hatlestad, 2003). In addition, wireless devices can be easily

misplaced or stolen, exposing private information to anyone who finds it. More disturbing is that

70% of companies do not even have a policy that tells employees what to do if their wireless

device was lost or stolen (Cohn, 2002). The fact is that most wireless access points are difficult to

manage and secure, so there are often breaches in the armor when it comes to securing a network

(Ohlhorst, 2003). Securing wireless networks are becoming more difficult with no easy solution.

Another difficult challenge facing wireless systems is the fact that there is no “universal

wireless standard.” What works with one system many not necessarily work with another. There is

a lack of compatibility amongst wireless systems due to competing wireless application protocol

(WAP) standards (Wireless…, 2002). Certain standards, such as WiFi and Bluetooth are globally

compatible. They have altered the industry landscape, which has accelerated the demand for

wireless monitoring and control applications worldwide (Karayannis, 2003). However, WiFi and

Bluetooth have lacked sufficient industry support or imposing requirements that are too costly to

satisfy emerging demand for wireless communication (Singer, 2002). Along with evolving

standards and the introduction of new standards, businesses are forced to frequently perform

upgrades to the wireless-infrastructure (Galicki, 2003), which can also be very costly. This also

has a great affect on managing corporate information. The challenge for businesses is determining

how to integrate all of their wireless systems and guarantee that their information will transfer from

wireless to fixed devices.

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Managing Wireless Information

Information is what makes a business, but securing that information and making sure that

it is transferred undamaged from wireless to fixed systems is what can keep you in business. As

has been mentioned, the wireless systems are continuing to grow and develop. For that reason it

is imperative that businesses have a strategy to deal with wireless information, especially when

more and more consequential information is being stored on wireless devices while employees are

out of the office. This task is not as difficult for small businesses as it is for medium to large

businesses because of the amount of employees using wireless devices.

The most important aspect of managing wireless information is protecting it. Only full,

incremental and differential backup scheduling can protect vital corporate information (Tanner,

2003). However, most wireless devices do not have disk drives and store downloaded information

and computer programs in local memory chips (Phillips, 2002). In addition, there are few wireless

devices that can have their data easily backed up to traditional storage devices (Phillips, 2002).

This task becomes even more difficult when employees also forget to protect and transfer

important information from their wireless device. That is why it is imperative to have authentication,

encryption mechanism, coupled with data integrity (Lawson, 2003)

Information managers must be prepared for any unforeseen inefficiencies or dependencies

arising from the use of wireless technologies with respect to data storage, information retrieval,

protecting records, privacy, and content reliability (Phillips, 2002). Without this preparation wireless

devices will be a liability to business and lead to ineffective information management.

Conclusion

From simple pagers to high-tech multi-function PDAs or cell phones, wireless technology is

here to stay. Everyone from the teenager at the mall to the CEO of a major corporation is using

wireless devices. The use of wireless devices is becoming the norm and it will only continue to

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expand, especially in the business world. Wireless technology has had a dramatic impact on the

way businesses operate. Now employees can be in constant contact with office and can

upload/download any important information in a few seconds.

With the development of wireless devices there are numerous challenges that businesses

must face. No longer is important information safely stored in the corporate memory where it is

easier to secure and manage. Employees have information on PDAs, hand-held PCs, and laptops,

just to name a few and that information is at a constant risk. The integrity and security of that

information is what needs to be protected.

The role of the information manager is more important now than it has ever been. They

are the ones who are responsible for the security and integrity of the information. Businesses must

understand the importance of information managers and a sound information management

strategy. Without a sound strategy the information that is so vital to businesses can become a

liability and affect their overall competitiveness.

The future of wireless technology is endless and so are the challenges. Businesses are

only now beginning to understand the importance of managing their wireless devices and

information. It is imperative that they take control of the challenges now before it affects them in

the future. Preparing for the future begins with understanding current wireless developments and

challenges and information managers are key to that preparation. A perspicacious information

manager will see the problem before it occurs and use their wireless systems effectively in order to

ensure the security and integrity of the business’s information, especially when everything is

wireless and always connected.

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