I was luckily to get involved in testing of several leading smartphone and tablet devices in the Philippine market today. Android and Windows Phone were the leading benchmarks that I were able to worked with and thanks for my Big Bosses for their extensive supports and I take pride to work with them as well as with our partners. These activities really drive me to pursue another big leap in my career advancement for this is an opportunity to demonstrate the expertise I had been for almost 14 years in IT industry.
As these devices has flooded the local market and inspires the companies to look for business values from it perhaps to create innovation or provides significant cost reduction either, they are amazed and almost drown from the promises of what these devices can do to their business. Many companies, for sure, relies on the charms of vendors’ ads and words to make sound decision to purchase which at the end might turn the exaggeration into prostration. This must be avoided not only by the companies out there but also for gadget-lovers who looks benefits or values.
I remembered one time when one of my previous students asked me of this question: “Sir what do you think is the best and durable smartphone today? I am determined to buy one but don’t know what is best for me…”. This question is actually becomes intricate once a person has no means to determine what is supposed to select. It is akin to write a letter but doesn’t know how to begin. Just begin your letter with your goal. This also applies to the companies looking for gadget solutions on their day-to-day operation needs. Smartphone and tablet provide greater mobility services to the business such as logistical transaction support, client service delivery and peer-to-peer communication to name a few. Wrong selection of device for the given requirements will cause predicament to the business or individual.
Selecting the appropriate criteria to choose the right device for us is the best means to justify the ends. Criteria should be depends on the “actual” requirements that we want to satisfied. Criteria should be as simple as it is. Remember in selecting the solution, not just a device, we have to consider the key winning factors and these are:
- Cost
- Simplicity
- Durability
- Flexibility
Cost refers to any budgetary concern of the business or person meaning you have, of course, the necessary fund to buy what you want. Simplicity means able to provide better user experience while flexibility offers capability to support any or future functionality such as data migration or transaction processing with the critical systems (e.g. work collaboration, transaction via web-portal, program emulation, etc.) if you are dealing with the company’s operation sustainment or improvement. Wait, you will probably ask me what about durability? My answer is, again, there is no such 100% durable device, it depend on the actual utilization of end-user based on applicable environment. If I have the netbook here and I’ll use it within the cold storage or warehouse with below zero temperature, in a couple of hours, what do you think will be happened? Of course, you should have to identify the actual working environment that your device will be supposed to work with. But again, by considering the flexibility factor, you may, for example, replace the device component with accessory capable to satisfy your environment requirement. Use your innovative mind and you will create a niche solution without buying those expensive stuffs.
However in reality, the winning factors that were mentioned above are not always satisfied. Assessment of importance among the three factors should now be considered next. If simplicity is more sensitive than the two then you have the right point or you might rely on the sort of importance among them before concluding. Of course these criteria can also be divided into sub-criteria depending on the needs. Once the criteria has been established then you have to actual assess or test at least three (3) devices but make sure you have the proper justification away from prejudice through qualitative or quantitative measurement.
For sure, while reading this article you may find yourself in the middle of nowhere but having practice on dealing with criteria selection, assessment and decision you might be surprised later that you’re becoming like a pro, believe me. As what I always reiterate, life should be as simple, and this simplicity creates innovation. Let us create a world of wonder, a world that full of opportunity from innovation. Should you need other details regarding the strategy mentioned here or if you want to discuss some concerns related to this article, please let me know and I’ll be glad to work with you. You may reach me at renatopresbaisa[AT]yahoo.com or just comment from the blog.
