Call for Papers

Below is the call for papers for the upcoming Cutter IT Journal issue Mobile Technologies in the Enterprise: Applications, Implications and Trends , guest edited by Katia Passerini.

• Abstract Submission Date: 22 June 2010
• Articles Due: 30 July 2010
• Guidelines for Contributors

Mobile Technologies in the Enterprise: Applications, Implications and Trends

Mobile technologies provide remote connectivity to data and business applications through wireless devices used by organizations' employees, clients, and partners. Such technologies encompass software applications, various types of supporting networks, and corresponding hardware.

Many businesses have already invested and are motivated to continue to invest in mobile technologies. This sustained expansion is fueled by external drivers such as opportunities to extend service options or catch up with competitors that are already using mobile tools. It is also fueled by internal efficiencies, like having achieved significant improvements in operations, especially in customer-facing processes and administrative and support procedures [1]. Any organization that plans to stay competitive is faced with the requirement of offering access to services through wireless technologies. If the organization also wishes to attract and retain talented employees, it must support an increasingly mobile and remote workforce that demands flexible work-hours and flexible work-locations. If it wants to conduct business with dynamic partners and suppliers, it must offer access to a secure and always available mobile network.

While the motivations for investing in mobile technologies are simple, the pathway to dealing with the polyhedron of players involved in managing the smooth operation of the mobile enterprise is rather complex. The effective use of mobile technologies for anytime/anywhere communication and data transfer is based on the successful interaction of a large number of players, applications and platforms. Firms need to make decisions about hardware (wireless laptops, smart phones, tablets, and other wireless devices); type of content-provided remotely (in-house generated, employee-generated or 3rd party); supporting applications (browser-based, emails, other downloadable applications, etc.); types of data access/network providers (WLAN/Wi-Fi, GSM, 3G, 4G); maintenance contracts; IT support; and security (and liability) implications of each choice. Not surprisingly, this complexity often requires imposing restrictions that limit remote use, reducing flexibility in the name of security, and interfering with private life through location tracking and always-available communication modes.

Overcoming technological challenges is probably only a matter of time. Wireless and cellular standards improve at a fast-pace, and interoperability across networks is becoming more pervasive. However, managerial challenges continue to abound because issues are still fuzzy to make it to the "list of problems-solved" and practices are too new to become "best-in-class." For example, privacy and security policies are either too restrictive or non-existent. Often, any piece of data coupled with location traces is collected and archived for future use without specific purposes, simply because storage costs continue to collapse. Some see the aggregation of this vast amount of data as an opportunity for research and discovery. [2] Others see it as the realization of the Big Brother Orwellian utopia. [3]

Another challenge is workers' attitudes: mobile employees are often ambivalent on how they feel about these anytime-anywhere tools. While they like the flexibility, they are starting to succumb to the pressures of the always-on model, which easily leads to a "must be always available to work" environment (regardless of location). Companies are just beginning to deal with e-mail etiquette (n-etiquette), and thinking about a proven "m-etiquette" for Blackberry/iphone usage in meetings seems still a long-way ahead.

In a few words, while mobile apps continue to be developed every minute to satisfy any foreseeable need (do I really need an app for my coffee?), and growth trends skyrocket despite any recession data, the challenges opened by mobile technologies implementation and use remain.

The September issue of Cutter IT Journal intends to open a debate on some of the topics introduced above by soliciting contributions on a variety of areas related to the opportunities and challenges presented by the use of mobile and wireless technologies in organizations. These include but are not limited to technical, managerial, legal/ethical, and human resources issues as related to the following topics:

• What are some of the hardware and software integration and interoperability issues of mobile technologies?
• What are some of the software design and application development approaches for mobile technologies: new or old models?
• How will mobile technologies affect wireless network standards and evolution?
• What are the trends and perspectives on mobile equipment/technologies growth?
• What is the (new) role of telecommunications providers?
• What are the changes to business models based on mobile technologies?
• How can costs and benefits be justified for "going mobile"?
• What types of governance arrangements are necessary for IT, HR and legal units to manage mobile technologies and services?
• How can sustainable policies and sound operational practices be established for remote data access, capture, management, storage and retrieval?
• What types of security and privacy protection issues might be encountered in wireless environments?
• What types of legal and liablity issues are possible in mobile data collection and transfer, specifically location-based services?
• Will mobile data mining translate to a big-brother phenomenon or endless possibilities?
• How might the workforce, workplace and work-hours change?
• How might it change the employee work-life balance and employers' expectations in the anytime/anywhere model?
• What is the next evolution of mobile services in terms of new applications and customer needs?
• How will mobile technologies, access and equality issues pan out across regions?
• What are the benefits (or lack thereof) of mobile applications growth?
• Is there any data-driven analyses on future growth trends on their impact on organizations?
• What are some practice-based observations of technical/management issues of mobile technologies?
• What are some case studies of successful/unsuccessful mobile technology implementations in organizations?

TO SUBMIT AN ARTICLE IDEA

Please respond to the Guest Editor, Katia Passerini at pkatia[at]gmail[dot]com, with a copy to itjournal[at]cutter[dot]com, by 22 June 2010. Include an extended abstract and a short article outline showing major discussion points.

ARTICLE DEADLINE

Accepted articles are due by 30 July 2010.

EDITORIAL GUIDELINES

Most Cutter IT Journal articles are approximately 2,500-3,500 words long, plus whatever graphics are appropriate. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact CITJ's Group Publisher, Christine Generali at cgenerali[at]cutter[dot]com or the Guest Editor, Katia Passerini at pkatia[at]gmail[dot]com. Editorial guidelines are available at http://www.cutter.com/content-and-analysis/journals-and-reports/cutter-it-journal/edguide.html

AUDIENCE

Typical readers of Cutter IT Journal range from CIOs and vice presidents of software organizations to IT managers, directors, project leaders, and very senior technical staff. Most work in fairly large organizations: Fortune 500 IT shops, large computer vendors (IBM, HP, etc.), and government agencies. 48% of our readership is outside of the US (15% from Canada, 14% Europe, 5% Australia/NZ, 14% elsewhere). Please avoid introductory-level, tutorial coverage of a topic. Assume you're writing for someone who has been in the industry for 10 to 20 years, is very busy, and very impatient. Assume he or she will be asking, "What's the point? What do I do with this information?" Apply the "So what?" test to everything you write.

PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

We are pleased to offer Journal authors a year's complimentary subscription and five copies of the issue in which they are published. In addition, we occasionally pull excerpts, along with the author's bio, to include in our weekly Cutter Edge e-mail bulletin, which reaches another 8,000 readers. We'd also be pleased to quote you, or passages from your article, in Cutter press releases. If you plan to be speaking at industry conferences, we can arrange to make copies of your article or the entire issue available for attendees of those speaking engagements -- furthering your own promotional efforts.

ABOUT Cutter IT Journal

No other journal brings together so many cutting-edge thinkers, and lets them speak so bluntly and frankly. We strive to maintain the Journal's reputation as the "Harvard Business Review of IT." Our goal is to present well-grounded opinion (based on real, accountable experiences), research, and animated debate about each topic the Journal explores.

PLEASE FORWARD THIS CALL FOR PAPERS TO ANYONE WHO MIGHT HAVE AN APPROPRIATE SUBMISSION.

1. Passerini, K. The Continuing Growth of Mobile Technologies. Cutter Benchmark Review, March 2009, pp. 5-12.

2. Shilton, K. (2009). Four Billion Little Brothers? Privacy, mobile phones, and ubiquitous data collection. Communications of the ACM, 52, 11, pp. 48-53.

3. Holtzman, D.H. (2006). Privacy Lost: How Technology is Endangering Your Privacy. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA.