Chapter 1 Information Systems in Global Business Today 9 INTERACTIVE SESSION: MANAGEMENT MIS IN YOUR POCKET Doylestown's information systems department was able to establish the same high level of security for authenticating users of the system and tracking user activity as it maintains with all the hospital's Web-based medical records applications. Information Can you run your company out of your pocket? Perhaps not entirely, but there are many functions today that can be performed using an iPhone, BlackBerry, or other mobile handheld device. The smartphone has been called the "Swiss Army knife of the digital age. A flick of the finger tums it into ais storet securely on the hospital's own server Web browser, a telephone, a camera, a music or video player, an e-mail and messaging machine, and for some, a gateway into corporate systems. New software applications for social networking and salesforce management (CRM) make these devices even more versatile business tools computer D.W. Morgan, headquartered in Pleasantorn California, serves as a supply chain consultant and transportation and logistics service provider to companies such as AT&T, Apple Computer Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, and Chevron. It has operations in more than 85 The BlackBerry has been the favored mobile handheld for business because it was optimized for e-mail and messaging, with strong security and tools for accessing internal corporate systems. Now that's countries on four continents, moving critical inventory to factories that use a just-in-time (JIT) strategy. In JIT, retailers and manufacturers main changing. Companies large and small are starting to deploy Apple's iPhone to conduct more of their work. For some, these handhelds have become necessities. tain almost no excess on-hand inventory, relyin upon suppliers to deliver raw materials, compo- nents, or products shortly before they are needed. In this type of production environment, it's absolutely critical to know the exact moment when Doylestown Hospital, a community medical center near Philadelphia, has a mobile workforce of delivery trucks will arrive. In the past, it took 360 independent physicians treating thousands of patients. The physicians use the iPhone 3G to stay connected around the clock to hospital staff, colleagues, and patient information. Doylestown doctors use iPhone features such as e-mail, calen- dar, and contacts from Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. The iPhone allows them to receive time-sensitive e-mail alerts from the hospital. Voice communication is important as well, and the iPhone allows the doctors to be on call wherever phone calls and a great deal of manual effort to provide customers with such precise up-to-the- minute information. The company was able to develop an application called ChainLinq Mobile for its 30 drivers that updates shipment information collects signatures, and provides global positioning system (GPS) tracking on each box it delivers As Morgan's drivers make their shipments, the use ChainLinq to record pickups and status updates. When they reach their destination, the collect a signature on the iPhone screen. Da collected at each point along the way, including a Doylestown Hospital customized the iPhone to provide doctors with secure mobile access from any location in the world to the hospital's MEDITECH electronic medical records system. MEDITECH delivers information on vital signs, medications, lab results, allergies, nurses' notes, therapy results, and even patient diets to the iPhone screen. "Eve radiographic image a patient has had, every date- and time-stamped GPS location pinpointed on a Google map, are uploaded to the company's servers. The servers make the data available to cus- tomers on the company's Web site. Morgan's com- petitors take about 20 minutes to half a day to pro- vide proof of delivery; Morgan can do it TCHO is a start-up that uses custom-developed
