Mobile computing has a variety of definitions depending on who you ask. Most often the definition you receive is based largely on what that company has to sell. At DCT Solutions Group we have been involved in mobile computing applications for more than 15 years. When we started, no one had ever heard the term Mobile Computing. We called it data collection or bar coding, however the devices we used were small, DOS-based computers and applications had to be written, and interfaces to host computer systems had to be created for these systems to have value.

Today, Mobile Computing is called many things. Warehouse Management (WMS), Field Service Automation, Sales Force Automation, Fleet Management, Mobile Resource Management, Mobile Asset Management, Maintenance and Repair Operations (MRO), Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Inspections are all very different applications of Mobile Computing. In addition, mainstream applications for remote network access, email and Internet access are as pervasive as the devices they run on.

These systems still require a mobile computer, an application and an interface into host systems. Today however, they also require much, much more.