A Tool or a Toy
Last week, while I was out at Trilogy Payment, with my Brother, we were discussing the virtues of his iPhone versus my Windows Smart Phone, and Bryant made a tremendously witty and pointed comment. One's a toy, and the other's a tool.
And for me that really encapsulates the discussion, especially when put into the larger discussion around Unified Communications…
We have clients with each of the different devices, Palm, Windows, CrackBerry, iPhone, fill in the blank…we make it a point to work with our clients, come as you are…but Abbie's Mogul and my Q are both Windows Mobile, and come with all the basics of any Windows Mobile Device: Email, Calendar, and Contacts sync'd with Exchange Server. But we extend that functionality with Office Communicator 2007 Mobile and Live Messenger, directly on the phone. I know if you are driving then you should not text message, but that rule applies across the board. What really makes the difference, between a tool and a Toy, is does it fit into your business. The CrackBerry bond can't be broken easily, but after people see the over the air sync, the integration into the business with Mobile Communicator and CRM Mobile, it gets tougher to stick to it…
So when you look at your phone, is it a tool or a toy? Does it extend your enterprise, or do you have to work around it to get to the information you need, when you need it?