You’re running late, you’re lost, you need directions. Today, all you need is your smartphone to get you where you want to go, not a dedicated GPS device. Take a look around and you’ll notice professional surveyors who used to rely on clunky GPS hardware are now using iPhones, iPads and Android devices to get their work done from highways and construction sites to airports.
Businesses long ago bid farewell to single-purpose personal digital assistants and BlackBerrys. Modern, multi-purpose mobile devices have changed the way the world works. And now, companies with mobile workforce operations are moving away from expensive proprietary GPS hardware and outdated software. GPS handheld makers cannot help their customers take advantage of the improved operational efficiencies, significant cost savings and productivity enhancements that other industries have realized since the iPhone was launched in 2007. Between the cloud, Web-based mapping services and “bring-your-own-device” initiatives, the world just doesn’t work that way anymore. And more and more companies are seeing the light.
This article points out five compelling reasons more and more companies in industries such as energy, utilities and construction are making the switch from proprietary GPS handhelds to smartphones and tablets and GPS/GIS data collection applications.
Lower costs
When Apple announced the iPhone 3G with its GPS chip in 2008, the company sold 3 million units during its first weekend. In October of that year, Google introduced its Android operating system, adding Google Maps and a navigation program to a smartphone that had just gotten smarter. Fast forward to reports from Pew Research that shows 90% of American adults now own cell phones and 42% own tablet computers.
There may have been a time when it made sense to spend $10,000 or more to put a GPS handheld device in each field employees’ hands. But with many already owning Apple and Android devices with built-in GPS, that clock has clearly expired. Nobody needs to spend that much money on outdated field data collection equipment anymore. For example, mapping the location of a valve on an above-ground pipeline can be done with a smartphone or tablet, instead of an expensive single-function GPS handheld.
Superior hardware
Unlike proprietary, single-purpose GPS handhelds that only serve one purpose, Apple and Android devices are flexible, multipurpose Swiss Army knives. Not only do they sport built-in GPS, high-speed Internet access and high-resolution cameras, but e-mail, cloud storage and office apps that enable field workers to be productive while at a job site. After all, who wants to carry another stand-alone device if they can get the job done on their iPhone, iPad, Android smartphone or tablet? And when on-board GPS accuracy to the centimeter-level is required for engineering and survey users, there are numerous GPS receivers that can be paired via Bluetooth to deliver survey-grade accuracy to a smartphone or tablet.
Software designed for the mobile world
Mobile software has been in an arms race the last seven years. Apple and Google have been duking it out, continuously upgrading iOS and Android and spending billions of dollars to have the most intuitive user interface, rich user experience and best developer network in the universe.
But when was the last time GPS handheld software was updated? Most proprietary GPS devices still run Windows Mobile, which first shipped in 1996 and Microsoft stopped supporting in 2008. GPS handsets are literally missing out on a decade of mobile innovation, forcing field workers to use a maze of menus, buttons or a stylus to capture field data. Meanwhile, workers already own a multi-touch mobile device, download dozens of apps and update them all over-the-air.
Over-the-air data sharing
For enterprises and utilities that have hundreds or dozens of field workers capturing data each day, it’s critical to be able to easily access, share and update data. Mobile apps use open, industry standards and over-the-air data synchronization to make it easy to do what you want with your data.
However, GPS handhelds create proprietary data formats and then require users to purchase expensive additional software and services to translate their markup into basic shapefiles. Users also must physically connect their GPS handheld device to a computer and manually perform dozens of extra steps to upload their data. Instead of providing users with an open database and the flexibility to share data quickly and easily, they require expensive, unnecessary and outdated middleware.
Huge leap for productivity
Today, survey field crews use mobile apps on their phones, get up to speed quicker and are far more efficient and productive capturing and sharing field data with headquarters and fellow field workers in real-time. This ease of use is built directly into the modern mobile experience, and not something you’ll find in a device that was built before the cloud was born.
According to Pew Research, 76% of men and 72% of women use location-based applications regularly, and smartphone or tablet owners spend 65% more time using apps than they did two years ago. A massive workforce is already trained in using BYOD location-based apps. But are they really more productive? According to a research firm, VMWare estimated employee efficiency gains due to BYOD of more than $2 million annually.
The technology stars have aligned
The global adoption and multi-billion dollar investment in traditional GPS technology have created a tightly integrated ecosystem resistant to change. Until now, it’s simply been easier for companies to deal with the status quo – the expense and limitations of traditional GPS handsets, as well as proprietary vendor software and data. Traditional single-function GPS handsets are now faced with the superiority of smartphone and tablet GPS solutions and the overwhelming cost advantages. With potential savings up to 90%, the technology stars have aligned to create an operational imperative for BYOD and GPS/GIS apps that companies can no longer ignore.
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