Mobile Computing and Social Networks

There are thousands of iPhone Apps, iPad Apps, and Android Apps that have been developed to perform a myriad of tasks and processes. Initially, most of these applications were games intended to be played on mobile devices. The popularity of these applications led businesses to ponder whether some of their business process applications that run on desktop platforms and the Web could be redesigned to run on mobile devices. The answer was a resounding yes! For example, Nationwide developed the Nationwide Mobile, a free iPhone App that allows its insurance policyholders to file a claim on the spot when an accident occurs. The application can snap pictures of the accident and attach them to the claim data and upload the claim information to a server. This reduces the length of time to process a claim filed this way. Nationwide competitors have followed suit and developed iPhone, iPad, and Android applications of their own. Policyholders can receive messages via Facebook or Twitter. Other business processes that have been re-engineered as a result of mobile computing include Quick Response (QR) codes which have replaced one-dimensional bar codes. They are read using mobile devices, accepting credit card payments from an iPhone, iPad or Android device, depositing checks using an iPhone without visiting a bank, and many more.

1. Assess the effectiveness and efficiency mobile-based applications provide to capture geolocation data and customer data, and quickly upload to a processing server without users having to use a desktop system.

2. Evaluate benefits realized by consumers because of the ability to gain access to their own data via mobile applications.

3. Examine the challenges of developing applications that run on mobile devices because of the small screen size.

4. Describe the methods that can be used to decide which platform to support, i.e., iPhone, iPad, Windows Phone, or Android.

5. Mobile applications require high availability because end users need to have continuous access to IT and IS systems.

6. Discuss ways of providing high availability.

7. Mobile devices are subjected to hacking at a higher rate than non-mobile devices. Discuss methods of making mobile devices more secure.