Specialized Mobile (1980s to 1995)
Three key infrastructure-related milestones occurred between the mid-1970s and early 1990s to set the stage for specialized mobile:
With these key technology components in place, specialized mobile’s first deployments could begin.
In this era, mobility was used in highly specialized environments by a workforce that scanned bar codes to collect data about goods’ movements through the supply chain. “Rugged” devices, which were specifically designed for use in harsh industrial settings, debuted.
IT found itself in charge of mobile and took the lead in mobile decisions, managing deployments and offering support through established Help Desk operations.
In this era, enterprise mobile was a “one size fits all” technology operating in a largely static environment.
Changes to operating systems and the mobile infrastructure’s underlying building blocks were few, minimizing disruption to corporate processes and procedures.
In addition to these specialized usages, the introduction of wireless standards, such as GSM and SMS, represented the first foray into creating a foundation for enterprise mobility that would enable rapid growth in subsequent eras.
