Windows Phone

Mobile and the Microsoft Platform
Working closely with Microsoft for the past several years, MPS Partners has built solutions leveraging previous versions of all Windows Mobile platforms. We have also developed solutions for the latest Windows Phone 7 and Slate devices.

Our mobile solution delivers a practical design, architecture and development strategy that focuses on user experience, business functions and total cost of ownership.

Over the past few years, mobile applications (both phone and slate) have been widely adopted on many different platforms. For organizations, this trend has posed two problems:

• How to create applications using the tools they are familiar with and not having to rewrite the application for every different device
• How does IT manage these multiple devices that are a combination of corporate assets and employee personnel property

Application Challenge
The core issue of mobility has changed the way people think about applications. Smaller displays, less bandwidth and slower processors have dramatically affected mobile application design. Simply taking the functionality of full browser-based applications and resizing to fit the mobile device is not effective.

You cannot easily move existing applications to a less powerful mobile platform. You cannot take a full screen browser solution and try to retrofit it for a smaller display. You cannot take a workflow approval function with several screens and many steps and try to force it onto an occasionally connected mobile device.

The design of mobile applications needs to be thought through and developed differently. Organizations must decide if they are building device-specific applications or trying to develop a single application and run it on multiple device platforms.

The single device application will be easier to develop and be feature-rich with the access to specific functions on the device, but will not have the immediate reach that a multiple platform device application would have. The multiple device application will leverage server side development and deliver data to the device generically with a thin device-specific application developed separately. MPS Partners has developed these small wrapper applications across the major platforms using a hybrid approach combining device-specific features and a mobile browser.

Each approach is viable based on the goals of the application and the audience. Device-specific applications allow individual device features and functions to be leveraged to their fullest. Hybrid applications have become more and more appealing as a way to keep the costs of cross platform development down by developing the core of the application using web technologies, a skill typically available in-house.

Management Challenge
Mobility has changed the way IT controls and manages devices. Corporate standards are no longer allowing only specifically approved devices on the network. With consumers having a vast array of devices from which to purchase, corporate IT has enabled employees, contractors, customers and vendors to bring those devices onsite, granting access to the wireless network and other infrastructure functions. In addition, the devices have been granted access to corporate data via email and file transfer, and in some instances, data stored locally. This can be a management challenge and a security risk for your organization.

Both application and management challenges to mobility are solvable. In fact, in most instances, solutions can be implemented using tools and software already put in place by your IT organization. MPS Partners can assist in the planning, architecture and implementation for all your mobility solution needs.

Please contact us at 312.756.1760 or sales@mpspartners.com to learn more about our Windows Mobile services.