Mobile technology will replace the PC

INDUSTRY

Given the rate of adoption of mobile devices and the extent to which this technology is changing society, there is every reason to believe that mobile applications will replace the Personal Computer (PC).

This is the view of executive management at FOXit (Pty) Ltd., a national provider of Enterprise Project Management (EPM) and Project & Portfolio Management (PPM) in business.

According to online research, just over seven million people in South Africa access the Internet via their mobile phone and approximately six million use a mobile device, including a laptop or tablet device.

A Mobility 2012 research study, conducted by South Africa’s World Wide Worx, offered insight into user behaviour.

MD of World Wide Worx, Arthur Goldstuck has said that data will play an increasingly important role amongst mobile users, with emphasis on social networking and instant messaging.

However, it is the specialised application of mobile technology to effectively and remotely manage projects that has elevated the profile of FOXit within a rapidly expanding market.

The company reinforced its leadership position with the rollout of METROit, allowing users to establish a secure mobile link with Microsoft’s Project Server 2010 environment in order to effectively manage the projects or organisation.

Inclusive of all risks, issues, approvals and timesheets, METROit offers the user a single view in real-time of all project related work.

“This application is so much more than just another mobile application,” says Damian Nelson-Higley, National Sales Manager, FOXit.

“The technology moves tasks directly from the published project schedules in Microsoft PPM to your daily work schedule and with the interactive calendar feature you can plan your whole week, month or year - even taking into account your normal diary entries. Managing your time on tasks is as simple as pressing ‘start’ and your progress will be recorded. When completing a task you simply select ‘stop’. Time is booked directly to your timesheet,” he adds.

Offerings like METROit helped the South African-based company win the 2012 Microsoft Global Mobility Business-to-Business award.

Awards were presented in multiple categories, with winners chosen from a set of nearly 3,000 entrants worldwide. FOXit was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in Mobility Business-to-Business Application.

The Global Mobility Business-to-Business (B2B) Application Partner of the Year Award recognizes exceptional innovation from a partner that has developed B2B applications on the Windows Phone 7 technologies. B2B applications include solutions that help accelerate business cycles, increase productivity, reduce operating costs, and enable a business customer to extend their infrastructures and provide an exceptional user experience.

These solutions can have a singular business focus or combine a range of business functions.

“As the Mobility Business-to-Business Application Partner of the Year, FOXit has demonstrated a commitment to business productivity by creating its METROit application, surfacing information from Microsoft Project Server, optimizing your workday, and allowing you to manage your project work proactively. FOXit provides clients with easy access to business resources that help them both operate efficiently and gain a competitive edge,” said Randy Kath, general manager, Windows Phone Division, Microsoft Corporation.